Court denies detention of bodybuilder who assaulted female driver

The former bodybuilder kicks a woman who complained about blocking her car on May 20 in Incheon. (Screenshot of JTBC's Han Moon-chul's Black Box Review)

A former bodybuilder who assaulted a woman in a parking dispute in Incheon is to be investigated without detention.

The warrant division of Incheon District Court on Monday turned down the detention warrant of a former bodybuilder in his 30s who is being investigated for physically assulating a woman at a parking lot in Incheon on May 20.

The woman demanded an apology from the suspect for parking his car in a way that blocked hers for 26 minutes at a shopping complex parking lot. After an argument, the suspect began to physically assault the victim.

The man continued to beat the victim even after she fell to the ground. As she gripped the suspect’s T-shirt, shouting at onlookers to call the police, he took off the shirt he was wearing and kept beating her.

The suspect’s pregnant wife, who also kicked the victim several times, was accused of jointly inflicting injury on the victim.

The incident left the victim with various injuries including rib fractures for which she received six weeks of medical treatment.

The scene was recorded on the victim’s dashboard camera.

“Considering the suspect’s attitude and diligent attention to the investigation, it is difficult to see that there are concerns about fleeing or destroying evidence,” stated Chief Judge Lee Gyu-hoon, who presided over the warrant hearing.

However, the victim said in a local media interview on July 6 that she was feeling threatened, as the suspect kept trying to contact her through her father-in-law’s phone number. She said she did not know how the suspect acquired it.

The footage of the scene was made public, showing most of the assault including the suspect’s wife telling the suspect: “Tell (the police) that she beat me, a pregnant woman.” The video garnered broad criticism among netizens against the suspect's wife.

The suspect had reportedly argued that the victim also hit his wife, but was unresponsive when asked by reporters whether he still thought the case was “mutual assault” on Monday.

By Lim Jae-seong(forestjs@heraldcorp.com)