Army corporal saves woman assaulted by drunken man

Army Cpl. Kim Dong-uk

By Jun Ji-hye

Army Cpl. Kim Dong-uk saved a woman in her 20s who was being assaulted by a drunken man, according to the Army, Wednesday.

On March 25, Kim, 22, who was on vacation, saw the man in his 50s being violent and abusive to the woman on a bus. The man grasped her by the wrist, preventing her from getting off the vehicle.

The woman barely managed to get off the bus, but the man still followed her.

Kim also got off the bus and pursued the man.

Then, Kim saw the man pull the woman’s hair and swing at her with his fist on a pedestrian overpass.

Kim rushed to the scene and called the police, restraining the man from beating the woman. The drunk took the bit between his teeth and tussled with Kim, trying to push Kim over the railings of the pedestrian overpass.

But it was not that difficult for the trained Army corporal to suppress the drunken man. Kim tripped the man over and held him down until the police came.

The man was then transferred to the police station and booked on a charge of assault.

A prosecutor who was in charge of the case later called the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, where Kim is serving as a squad leader of the 23rd regiment, to express his gratitude to Kim for his bravery.

The Army said that Kim was a model squad leader who had earned an award for hitting all 20 targets at a shooting match earlier this month.

The Army added that Kim received a letter of commendation from his regimental commander who praised the corporal for his brave deed.

“I have always thought that a soldier should be a model regardless of where he is,” Kim said. “I believe any soldier would act as I did to save a woman in danger.”

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