Boss who fired air gun into migrant worker's rectum gets prison term

A business owner in his 60s has been sentenced to prison for firing a high-pressure industrial air gun into a migrant worker's rectum, causing serious injuries.

The case drew national attention when President Lee Jae-myung personally directed police and labor authorities to investigate, calling violence and discrimination against migrant workers "a grave crime that can never be tolerated."

Judge Gu Na-young of Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 9 sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to three years in prison on charges including aggravated assault and violations of the Labor Standards Act, legal sources said Thursday.

The court dismissed charges against A's wife, identified as B, who had been indicted separately on charges of intimidation.

A is accused of pressing an industrial air gun against the rectum of a Thai worker in his 40s, identified as C, and firing a burst of high-pressure air at a plating factory he operated in Manse-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Feb. 20, causing serious injuries.

The blast caused C's abdomen to swell and left him struggling to breathe, requiring emergency surgery.

B, a company director and A's wife, was indicted without detention on charges of intimidating C — who needed emergency surgery — by saying "illegal alien, police" and mimicking the act of putting on handcuffs, implying she would report him to authorities as an undocumented immigrant if he did not return to his home country.

The couple took the victim to Ajou University Hospital in Suwon at around 8:09 p.m. on the day of the incident but left after he could not be seen and called 119. They told paramedics and police who responded that C had been "hurt while joking around with friends," making it appear to be a simple accident. They then said they would take him to another hospital but instead left the seriously injured victim at his lodgings rather than seeking further medical care.

During the trial, A's side acknowledged "firing the air gun handle about three times as a prank" but denied that the nozzle had been inserted into the victim's rectum and that air had been pumped in for seven seconds.

The court rejected A's account.

Judge Gu ruled that "taking together the victim's consistent testimony and medical records, it is established that the defendant held the victim's waist with one hand, inserted the nozzle into the rectum, and fired for seven to eight seconds," adding that "the victim said 'it hurts,' but the firing appears to have continued for a period without stopping."

The judge further said that "even if the victim could not see what was happening, the fact that he felt the air gun being inserted through touch means this cannot be regarded as mere speculation — it is something he knows from experience." Hospital records showed a 10-centimeter perforation inside the rectum, while the anal area itself required no surgical treatment, making it reasonable to conclude that the firing occurred with the nozzle inserted, the judge added.

The judge cited as a mitigating factor that the victim and defendant had reached a settlement after the close of arguments, with the victim expressing a wish not to pursue punishment. The dismissal of charges against B was also based on the victim's statement in the settlement agreement that he did not wish to see her punished, the court said, noting the offense falls under a category that cannot be prosecuted against the victim's will.

Prosecutors had sought seven years in prison for A and one year for B at the final hearing.