Man fined, given suspended sentence for assaulting teenagers he thought were bullying his son

A man in his 50s who assaulted three of his son's friends because he believed they were bullying the boy received a suspended fine from a court in Cheongju.

The Cheongju District Court's Criminal Division 1, headed by Judge Park Kwang-min, sentenced him to a 3 million won fine suspended for one year on a child-abuse charge, the court said on the 6th.

The man attacked the teenagers, including a 14-year-old, at his home in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, between Feb. 18 and 21 last year. He slapped and punched all three, leaving each with injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

Investigators said he believed his son, who has intellectual functioning at a level considered severe intellectual disability, was being bullied. He assaulted the boys because they entered the bathroom wearing shoes or talked back to him.

The court said, "The defendant committed physical abuse that injured the victim children's bodies and harmed their physical health and development." It added that it set the sentence after considering circumstances that could mitigate the motive and the defendant's remorse.

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The defendant committed physical abuse that injured the victim children's bodies and harmed their physical health and development.