adminAn actor in his 70s who was charged with insulting a subway security guard by shouting profanity at him over wearing a mask has been acquitted in court.
According to legal sources, Judge Lee Hwan-ki of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4 acquitted A, an actor in his 70s who was charged with insulting the officer.
The court ruled that while it was true that Mr. A swore at the time, it was not possible to identify the sheriff as the person he referred to as an “asshole” based on evidence such as witness statements and video footage.
Earlier, Mr. A was summarily indicted for taking the Seoul Subway Line 1 to Yongsan Station at 1 p.m. on June 18 last year, taking off his mask on the train and swearing at a security officer who asked him to put on a mask while talking on the phone.
At the time, it was mandatory to wear a mask on public transportation안전놀이터.
The prosecution believed that Mr. A insulted the subway security officer in front of several people, saying, “You’re an X,” “You’re an X,” “You’re an X,” and “You’re an X,” until he was forcibly removed from the train and kicked out of the ticket gate. The man, who disagreed with the prosecution’s decision to file summary charges, requested a full trial.
He claimed he removed his mask on the subway because the person on the other end of the phone, who was trying to book a train ticket for him, couldn’t understand his credit card number. Mr. Lee, an actor, claimed that an argument ensued over the mask and that he was forced to get off the train at Seoul Station, which prevented him from going to a scheduled commercial shoot.
“It appears that the defendant was angry that the commercial shoot was canceled and used profanity to express this,” the court said.
“It is difficult to conclude that he used insulting words that directly targeted the victim and caused a deterioration in society’s assessment of his personal worth,” it said.
The prosecution appealed the trial court’s acquittal.