Man dies after brawl with teens

A 39-year-old man died after an argument with teenagers resulted in a brawl while his wife and 6-year-old child looked on.

The Suwon Seobu Police Precinct said yesterday they booked a 16-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim, without detention on charges of bodily injury resulting in death.

The authority also charged another person, identified as Shin, 21, without restraint for assault.

What was to be a nighttime family outing turned out to be a tragic event on July 21 when Kim told a group of five teenagers sitting next to him at a table in front of a convenience store in Suwon, Gyeonggi to stop spitting and quiet down. The scolding soon turned into a heated argument and brawl.

The father of the 6-year-old hit his head on the asphalt, causing a brain hemorrhage, after being kicked in the head by the 16-year-old Kim.

Unconscious, Kim was immediately transported to a nearby hospital and underwent an eight-hour operation but died on Friday, six days after the surgery.

The suspect fled the site but later turned himself in to the authorities.

The families of the victim have called for an extended investigation to hold Kim’s friends at the scene accountable for the incident, alleging they also must have injured the victim during the 10-minute brawl.

The police have requested that the National Forensic Service conduct an autopsy of the victim’s body to find out the exact cause of death.

The police had earlier sought an arrest warrant against the 16-year-old but a local court rejected the request on grounds that the suspect is a student and is not likely to flee or destroy evidence.

By Kang Jin-kyu [jkkang2@joongang.co.kr]