‘I hate Chinese’: South Korean man gets suspended term over assault, destruction of property
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SEOUL – A man in his 40s was sentenced to a prison term of 18 months, suspended for three years, for attacks against complete strangers out of what appears to be racial hatred.
The Cheongju District Court said on May 2 that it has found the defendant guilty of assault and destruction of property, ordering the suspended term and 200 hours of community service.
He was on trial for two separate cases in 2025 in Cheongju city, North Chungcheong province.
On June 27, the defendant struck a victim’s car with his boot, saying: “I hate Chinese people!”
The victim was talking on the phone in front of a restaurant at the time.
When the victim tried to stop the defendant, he assaulted the victim and said, “go back to your own country”.
The second attack was in October against a passer-by in the streets, who told him off for kicking a traffic cone.
“The defendant’s actions are of malicious nature, as he attacked the victims who had no relation to him,” the court said in its ruling.
It did not hand him a severe punishment, based on the harm caused being minor and him fully admitting to the charges. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
