By Yun Suh-young
A 39 year-old-man died after being attacked by a teenager in front of his six-year-old son, police said Thursday.
According to Suwon Seobu Police Station, the man, surnamed Kim, died of a stroke six days after he fell to the ground, hitting his head on the asphalt road after a 16-year-old teenager assaulted him.
The two began to brawl after Kim reprimanded the teenager for spitting, police said. A passerby tried to stop the fight. Then Kim and the passerby began fighting. The 16-year-old tried to stop the confrontation between the two and the tussle spread to involve all three of them.
The police charged the 16-year-old, also surnamed Kim, for causing an injury that resulted in death and the 20-year-old passerby for physical assault. Although charged, the teenager is not in detention.
The incident occurred around midnight on July 21 in front of a convenience store in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
Kim initially visited the store to buy beer with his wife and son but forgot to take his wallet. His wife returned to their home, located five minutes away from the store.
The incident occurred while the wife was away. Kim was sitting in a chair beneath a parasol outside of the store with his son when he noticed five teenagers eating ramyeon next to them. Kim saw one spit on the ground and scolded him for doing so. However, the teenager ignored him, and so he angrily grabbed the boy by his collar and shouted at him.
Shin, the passerby, saw the scene unfold and interfered. He tried to stop the fight but only made it worse. While embroiled in the three-way struggle, the teen was hit in the face by Kim. The angry teenager then kicked Kim in the face and he fell to the ground, his head striking the concrete. Kim’s six-year-old son stood watching the scene crying, police said.
Kim was transferred to a nearby hospital and underwent an eight-hour operation to no avail.
The prosecution requested an arrest warrant for the teenager, but the court dismissed it, saying he was unlikely to hide evidence or run away and because he was a student.
Police requested an autopsy on Kim’s body to investigate the exact cause of his death.
The bereaved family, however, is unhappy with investigators, claiming that the police are trying to conclude the case “hastily.”