Chinese man gets reduced sentence for knife attack on racist coworker

The Ulsan District Court [KIM YOON-HO]

An appeals court sentenced a Chinese worker in his 60s to three years in prison with a five-year suspension for stabbing a Korean co-worker for making racist comments about Chinese people.

The sentence, however, was reduced from his first trial, where he received four years and six months in prison.

According to Ulsan District Court on Wednesday, the unidentified Chinese man stabbed a co-worker in his 50s while having drinks with 10 or so other people at a restaurant in Ulsan last June.

The two had worked together for five years, largely in construction.

During the meal, the Korean worker publicly cursed at the Chinese worker.

The Chinese man, already irritated by the Korean colleague's repeated ridiculing of Chinese people over the previous couple of months, attacked his verbal harasser with a knife he'd hidden in a towel.

The knife went through the man's left arm, damaging some arteries.

A judge ruled that the assailant had committed a serious crime since the victim suffered cardiac arrest and nearly died, and now has a disabled left arm.

However, the court lowered his sentence, saying the crime was not premeditated. He also pointed to the substantial compensation given to the victim.

The incident was one in a series of attacks by Chinese individuals on Koreans for allegedly making racist remarks.

In April, the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced two Chinese men to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension and 80 hours of volunteer work for attacking a Korean man in his 60s for making racist comments last June.

The attack happened at a restaurant in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul. The Chinese men hit the Korean victim with a soju bottle.

Anti-Korean sentiment in China is also escalating, fueled by an online post by a Chinese individual who was traveling in Korea.

In a video, the Chinese man claimed he heard a Korean woman making racist anti-Chinese comments while waiting in line at a public bathroom in Korea.

The post went viral in China, with some Chinese media and event organizers halting projects with Korean celebrities as a result.

Korea’s largest portal Naver has also been blocked in China since May.

BY KIM YOON-HO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]