Police Mediate Reconciliation in Cases from Senior Disputes to School Violence

Supreme Prosecutors' Office Selects
Four Exemplary Cases of Criminal Mediation

A case in which a long-standing grudge was resolved through mediation after a dispute over long-term advice escalated into mutual assault has been selected as an exemplary case of criminal mediation by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Criminal mediation is a dispute resolution system in which mediators, composed of private experts from various fields, intervene in minor cases to encourage reconciliation between suspects and victims.

Supreme Prosecutors' Office. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Photo by Yonhap News

On the 25th, Yonhap News reported that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced the selection of four exemplary cases of criminal mediation, including the mediators Shim Sangyeol, Kim Namseok, and Choi Gijong from the Gangneung Branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office.

The Gangneung Branch mediators received a case in which A (72), who was playing Janggi at a senior welfare center, and B (86), who was giving advice, assaulted each other.

After reviewing the case, the mediators determined that A and B had accumulated grievances against each other at the senior welfare center, and that their emotional conflict intensified due to advice given during the game, ultimately leading to assault.

Shim Sangyeol, Kim Namseok, and Choi Gijong, mediators at the Gangneung Branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office, persuaded A to express willingness to reconcile during the first mediation session. However, B did not attend due to old age and hearing difficulties, making even phone communication challenging, and the mediation ultimately broke down.

The mediators visited both the senior welfare center and B's home to persuade him in person, but B remained firm, insisting that he would not agree unless he received a direct apology from A, who, being younger, had allegedly insulted him first.

In a face-to-face mediation session, the mediators eventually persuaded both A and B to reach an unconditional agreement.

The two shook hands and reconciled, and after the mediation ended, they even returned home together in A's car. The case was closed in May of this year with a decision of no right of prosecution for either party.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office also selected as exemplary the mediators from the Seongnam Branch (Kim Seungyoung, Jung Youngho, and Lee Seonkyung), who, in a case of violence between high school friends, were chosen for their roles as a school violence investigator and reconciliation dispute resolution experts, and succeeded in eliciting a handwritten letter of apology and reflection from the perpetrator.

Mediators Jeon Gyutae and Jung Jaeryong from the Gyeongju Branch were also selected as exemplary for resolving a case in which minor intellectually disabled individuals injured each other due to misunderstandings during a conversation, through tailored interviews.

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