Four brothers who, resentful over a request to move a vehicle, assaulted someone as a group have stood side by side before the law.
According to the legal community on Sept. 12, 2023, A, 54, asked B, 63, to "move the car." In response, C, 67, raised his voice, saying, "Is the rolling stone trying to push out the stuck stone? Are you seizing someone else's ancestral land and acting like it's yours? I've been waiting for this."
After A won the bid for what B's brothers regarded as their ancestral land, they felt it had been taken from them and harbored resentment. As soon as A stepped outside the house, B used violence; C and D, 69, grabbed the victim's arms to pin him and then kicked his legs. E, 65, also joined in and struck the victim's face multiple times. In the process, the victim suffered serious injuries requiring eight weeks of treatment, including a fractured jaw, and eyeglasses worth about 190,000 won were also damaged.
In court, B's brothers denied some charges, claiming they tried to break up the fight or that the victim broke his glasses on his own, but the first-instance panel accepted the victim's and a witness's consistent testimony and the charges. The court noted, "It was of poor criminal character to harbor ill will and engage in a joint assault, and their courtroom demeanor was also very poor."
The court of first instance sentenced B to one year and six months in prison, C and D to one year in prison suspended for three years, and E to a fine of 7 million won.
B's brothers appealed, saying "the original sentence is too heavy and unjust." The appellate panel considered that the defendants admitted to the crime and made a criminal deposit for the victim. B's sentence was reduced to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years. The sentences for C and D were upheld, and E's fine was reduced to 5 million won.