"Calling Children 'Thieves' for Playing in Others' Apartment Playground," Resident Association President Reports to Police

"Is the Playground Owner the Chairman?" Parents Express Frustration

The president of the residents' association at an apartment complex in Incheon reportedly called the police after seeing children from other areas playing in the playground, sparking controversy. / Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Controversy has erupted after claims surfaced that the head of the residents' association of an apartment complex in Incheon reported children playing in the playground within the complex to the police.

Recently, a petition titled "Children playing in the apartment playground were taken away by the apartment chairman" was posted on the Blue House's national petition board.

The petitioner stated, "I am so shocked that I am posting this petition. Recently, children playing in the playground of an apartment in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, were taken away by the residents' association chairman," adding, "One of the children, who is usually supposed to return home by 6:30 PM, was unreachable despite two calls, causing us great worry. Then at 7:09 PM, we received a call from the police saying our child had been reported for property damage."

They continued, "When I rushed over, the first thing I saw was five elementary school children, including my child, being held in the management office," adding, "The five children cried thick tears like chicken droppings every time they saw their parents who had arrived after being contacted. Although I had just met them, I calmed the five children, including my own, and asked the police the reason for their dispatch."

According to the petitioner, the head of the residents' association of this apartment complex reportedly selected children from other areas, detained them in the management office, and then reported them to the police on suspicion of damaging playground equipment.

A child playing in the playground wrote this by hand / Photo by Internet Community Capture

The petitioner said, "Even after reviewing the closed-circuit television (CCTV), there was no evidence of the children damaging property," adding, "The residents' association chairman's personal opinion is that children from other areas are not allowed to play in our apartment."

They further explained, "During the process of taking the children from the playground, the chairman used abusive language and even told the children to leave their phones, bags, and bicycles in the playground and follow him, which is why we lost contact with our child," adding, "The investigating detective also reviewed the case for child abuse, confinement, and verbal violence but said it would be difficult to proceed and expressed regret. Please help us confirm if it is true that legal punishment is not possible."

They lamented, "I still cannot explain to my child what crime the children who were happily playing in another apartment complex's playground committed," adding, "Who really owns the playground? The children or the residents' association chairman?"

On internet communities, a post written by a child who was playing in the apartment playground at the time was also revealed. The post included statements such as, "We were playing a game called 'Rat Tag' when suddenly an old man asked where we lived," and "When I said I lived in XX, he said that if you come to play in XX's playground, you are a thief."

There were also statements like, "We all shouted that we didn't want to go, but the old man cursed and said we would grow up to be big thieves," and "When my mother and older brother arrived, he told them to properly educate their children."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.