Passenger who grabbed taxi driver's collar during political argument gets suspended sentence

A man in his 60s who grabbed a taxi driver by the collar while the driver was behind the wheel has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

According to Yonhap, Ulsan District Court Judge Shin Hye-won of Criminal Division 2 sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Crimes — specifically the provision on assaulting a driver. The court also ordered 80 hours of community service.

A was indicted on charges of grabbing and shaking the collar of taxi driver B, a man in his 50s, while the cab was traveling along a road in Ulsan late at night in December last year. Investigators found that A had become enraged during a conversation about politics with B and carried out the assault.

"The defendant committed this offense against a driver despite having been punished multiple times for similar crimes," the court said in explaining the sentence, adding that it took into account A's settlement with the victim.