Police will pursue a damages suit of about 70 million won against a teenager who repeatedly posted threats claiming to have planted explosives at the school the student attends.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said on Feb. 9 it plans to file a lawsuit seeking 75.44 million won in damages from high school student A, who was detained and indicted on charges of public intimidation and obstruction of official duties by deceit. The claimed amount is known to be the largest among damages claims since the public intimidation offense was established in March last year.
Police said significant administrative resources were consumed as on-site deployments and searches were repeated and surrounding patrols were strengthened due to A's posts, and had earlier signaled plans to seek damages. In total, 633 personnel were deployed to the scene, including 379 police, 232 firefighters, and 9 from the military authorities, with cumulative deployment time tallied at 63 hours and 51 minutes.
The lawsuit amount was decided at a damages review committee meeting on the 30th. Police then obtained approval from the Korean National Police Agency and recently finalized procedures to move forward with the suit, according to reports. The calculation of damages included 112 dispatch allowances, overtime pay, travel expenses, and fuel costs for mobilized vehicles.
A was brought to trial on charges of posting, seven times in total, to the 119 safety reporting center between Oct. 13 and Oct. 21 last year that explosives had been planted at, or would be planted at, a high school in Incheon's Seo District. During the investigation, authorities also found indications that in September–October of the same year A posted threats about planting explosives on online communities targeting middle and high schools and railway stations in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, and Asan, South Chungcheong.
It also emerged that in some of the offenses, another person's identity was stolen to post the threats. Prosecutors identified a total of 13 posts by A related to explosive threats during their investigation.
Meanwhile, A's attorney argued at the first hearing at the Incheon District Court on Feb. 5, "Some acts were committed alone, but for the other offenses A did not participate in the accomplices' actions." The attorney added that "A deeply regrets the wrongdoing," while explaining regarding some acts that it was "to the effect that A may have shared the method but did not specifically instruct or provide assistance."
A also was quoted as saying, "It has been more than two months since arriving at the detention center, and there has been bullying during that time. I deeply regret my wrongdoing," and, "If I can return to society, I will kneel and apologize whether it rains or snows."