Team Leader Firefighter Convicted for Bullying and Assaulting Junior Colleagues: "You Need to Be Beaten to Come to Your Senses"

Charges of Insult, Bodily Injury, and Coercion Acknowledged
Court: "Repeated Assaults Are Extremely Wrongful Actions"

A team leader-level firefighter who habitually assaulted and insulted junior and subordinate staff members has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.

According to the Ulsan District Court on April 7, Presiding Judge Lee Jaewook of the 3rd Criminal Division sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of insult, bodily injury, and coercion, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 120 hours of community service.

Mr. A was put on trial on charges of abusing his position as a team leader at a rescue center in Ulsan in 2024, physically assaulting and belittling the appearance of subordinate and junior firefighters.

Investigations revealed that during a physical training session, when junior employee Mr. B mishandled the ball while playing foot volleyball, Mr. A bit both of Mr. B’s ears six times, causing injuries. It was also found that Mr. A made mocking comments about Mr. B’s body in front of other colleagues.

Two other junior employees were also struck on the crown of the head with a racket or headbutted, and had their ears bitten when they made mistakes while playing badminton or foot volleyball.

Mr. A also faces charges of repeatedly yelling at subordinate firefighter Mr. C in front of other staff, saying, "You need to be beaten to come to your senses," and hitting him with his fist. Mr. A was also found to have threatened Mr. C as if to hit him, verbally abused him, and made him do physical punishments such as the horse-riding stance and running a lap around the fire station.

As the number of victimized firefighters increased, the Ulsan Fire Department branch of the National Public Officials Labor Union held a press conference in October 2024, demanding that Mr. A be suspended from his position and given strict disciplinary action.

The court stated, "The defendant’s repeated insults, assaults, and injuries against his colleagues are extremely wrongful actions," but added, "However, we have taken into account that he admitted to the crimes and considered his age, among other factors."

During the trial, Mr. A deposited compensation into the court, but the victimized firefighters refused to accept the payment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.