"I got angry while talking politics"—Man in his 60s who grabbed taxi driver's collar receives suspended prison sentence

[Financial News]   A passenger in his 60s was sentenced to a suspended prison term after grabbing the collar of a taxi driver who was driving because he became angry while discussing politics.
According to Yonhap News Agency and other reports on the 20th, Shin Hye-won, presiding judge of the Criminal Division 2 Single-Judge Panel at Ulsan District Court, sentenced a man in his 60s identified as A to six months in prison, suspended for two years. He had been indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, including assaulting a driver.
The court also ordered A to complete 80 hours of community service.
A was brought to trial on charges of grabbing and shaking the collar of B, a taxi driver in his 50s, inside a taxi traveling along a road in Ulsan one night in December last year.
Investigators found that A committed the offense after becoming angry while discussing politics with B.
The court explained its sentencing decision, saying, "Although the defendant committed the offense against a driver again despite having been punished several times for similar crimes, we took into consideration the fact that he admitted to the offense and showed remorse, as well as the fact that he reached a settlement with the victim."
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter