Rebuilding Korea Party's administrative chief fined for assaulting, insulting colleague

The administrative chief of the Rebuilding Korea Party has been fined in a first-instance ruling after being convicted of verbally abusing and physically assaulting a fellow party staffer.

The Seoul Southern District Court on May 7 ordered the party's administrative chief, identified only as A, to pay a 1 million won ($648) fine.

A was indicted in December last year on charges of insulting a party aide identified as B with abusive language and assaulting B by grabbing and shoving B by the shoulders and seizing B by the collar.

The court found that A had publicly humiliated B by shouting insults in front of others, and had also committed assault by pushing and grabbing B by the collar during a conversation.

The court added that the incident arose when B visited a lawmaker's office to inquire about workplace harassment and sexual misconduct, and that witness testimony was sufficient to establish the assault.