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Teen attacker of PPP Rep. Bae Hyun-jin handed suspended prison term

Published: 03 Mar. 2025, 18:10

KIM MIN-YOUNG
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A 16-year-old strikes People Power Party Rep. Bae Hyun-jin on the first floor of a building in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 25, 2024. [NEWS1]

A teenager was handed a suspended prison sentence for assaulting conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Bae Hyun-jin with a rock last year.

The 16-year-old was indicted on charges including aggravated assault and failed to submit an appeal within seven days of the verdict, confirming the court’s decision, according to legal circles on Monday.

In criminal trials, appeals or final appeals must be filed within seven days of the verdict, while in civil cases, the appeals period is two weeks from the date the ruling is delivered. Verdicts are final if no appeal is filed in time.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the middle school student to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges including aggravated assault on Feb. 13. The court also ordered him to undergo probation and receive mental health treatment during the suspension period.

Rep. Bae was assaulted on Jan. 25 last year in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, as she was heading to a hairdressing appointment in a building in Sinsa-dong.

The assailant reportedly asked the lawmaker twice if she was Bae before hitting her repeatedly with a rock, striking her 17 times until the rock split.

Surveillance video footage released by Bae’s office at the time showed that the assault continued even when the 41-year-old lawmaker fell to the ground.

The brutal attack was halted when employees from a restaurant on the first floor rushed to the scene upon hearing her cries for help.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]