Photo unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

The story of a security guard in his 70s who says he was assaulted by an apartment resident over fallen leaves he had not yet swept up has gone public, drawing widespread outrage.

According to a recent segment on JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," a TV crime-report program, a security guard in his 70s, identified only as A, who works at an apartment complex in Gyeonggi Province, came forward saying he had been physically assaulted and verbally abused by a resident identified as B.

A said the complex rotates security guards among buildings once a year, and that he had been assigned to his current building since last May.

About a month after the reassignment, A returned to his guard post one morning after finishing roll call and cleaning the surrounding area — only to be startled by resident B, a man in his 80s, who kicked open the door and immediately began shouting.

A recounted the confrontation: "B cursed at me, demanding to know why I had left the guard post without cleaning. I explained that I had briefly stepped out on patrol, but he shouted back, 'How dare you talk back,' and kept swearing. Then he pointed to a small pile of fallen leaves in the corner and said, 'You didn't clean that up,' picking a fight over nothing."

B then shouted, "I'm the one who pays your salary," and threatened to "gouge out" A's eyes before shoving A in the face and chest, causing him to fall to the floor and hit his head. A said he was later diagnosed with a concussion.

A bystander who witnessed the incident called police, and officers arrived to defuse the situation.

Feeling wronged by the unprovoked assault and verbal abuse, A posted a notice around the apartment complex titled, "Is this acceptable? A resident has assaulted a security guard."

The notice read: "Security guards are people too. We have human rights and dignity." It also stated, "No job is beneath another," and appealed: "Please listen to the plea of a security guard — the lowest-ranking worker — so that we may live in a society where justice is alive and conscience still breathes."

The notice sparked discussion among residents, and support for A quickly grew — neighbors even drafted a petition on his behalf.

About a week after the assault, B approached A while he was working at the recycling area, saying he had come to apologize. B then shouted, "When I apologize, you'd better accept it — look me in the eye," and shoved A in the chest again.

"This isn't how a gangster would even act — is this what an apology looks like?" A said. He also claimed that all four security guards who had worked in the building over the past two years had been subjected to B's verbal abuse, and that B had repeatedly gone to the management office demanding they be fired. "It seems the resident sees security guards not as human beings but as an outlet for his frustrations," A added.

A said he had not told his family about the assault. "I thought I could just endure it," he said. "I didn't want to tell my wife and children because I knew it would break their hearts."

He also expressed concern that his contract renewal, due in December, could be jeopardized if his identity became known.

Prosecutors received the case as a simple assault, but the resident accused of the attack is claiming to have dementia.


choigo@heraldcorp.com