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| The popular Hongdae area. / Korea Times file photo |
By Jung Min-ho
A man, 24, has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for attacking people with a broken bottle near Hongik University, a popular area for artists and clubbers in Seoul.
The Seoul Western District Court found him guilty Thursday of injuring 12 strangers at a bar around 3:20 a.m. on July 25 last year.
The man, surnamed Park, a college student, went there at 12:30 a.m. to celebrate his friend's birthday.
A quarrel over a trivial matter started the shocking violence. In the smoking room, Park mistakenly hit the hand of a stranger, surnamed Song. The two argued and exchanged blows.
In anger, Park attacked another man, surnamed Jung, who had nothing to do with their fight. Park then attacked a waiter surnamed Choi, who tried to calm him down, and others in the bar randomly.
During the trial, Park claimed he did not intend to kill anyone, but the court did not accept this because he repeatedly attacked the victims. Some, including Jung and Choi, could have died if people in the bar had failed to take emergency action immediately.
"The victims suffered enormously for no reason," the court said. "Yet Park does not appear to be repenting what he did."
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