Man fined on appeal for assaulting emergency medical technician

A South Korean court has upheld a 5 million won fine for a 59-year-old man who assaulted an emergency medical technician. The incident occurred in December 2024 when the technician attempted to confirm the man's identity at a police substation after he was found in an ambulance.

The man, identified as A, was accused of punching and kicking the emergency medical technician when asked for his personal information. During the initial trial, A's defense argued that he was in a state of diminished capacity due to consuming a toxic beverage. However, the court found insufficient evidence to support this claim, stating that while he was intoxicated, he was still capable of discerning and making decisions.

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The court found that the victim stated he went to the police station to confirm the defendant's identity because the defendant had no identification or mobile phone and was refused service at multiple hospitals.

Appealing the verdict, A claimed the technician wrongly took him to the police station, suspecting him of being a drug offender, and that his actions appeared as an assault through a staged act with the technician. The appellate court, however, sided with the initial ruling. The court noted the technician's statement that he took A to the police station because A had no identification or phone and had been refused service at multiple hospitals. Considering all circumstances, the court found no objective evidence to prove A's claims and no significant changes in sentencing conditions, thus upholding the original fine.

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Considering all the circumstances, there is insufficient objective data to prove the defendant's claims, and there are no special sentencing condition changes, so it is reasonable to respect the original judgment.