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Man receives suspended sentence for striking driver, defecating on bus in Daegu

Published: 01 May. 2026, 17:51

The Daegu District Court [KIM JUNG-SEOK]

A man who struck a city bus driver in the eye and defecated inside the vehicle has received a suspended prison sentence, according to legal sources Friday.

The Daegu District Court sentenced a 64-year-old man, identified only by his surname Hwang, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of aggravated assault.

The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of violence prevention education.

The assault occurred around 10 p.m. on July 19 last year, when Hwang attempted to board a city bus with an open beverage in hand.

When the driver refused him entry, Hwang allegedly hit the driver in the head with his bottle and repeatedly poked the driver’s eyes with his fingers, according to prosecutors. He subsequently defecated in the aisle next to the driver’s seat.

“The defendant assaulted the bus driver and, through the use of force, interfered with the victim’s operation of the vehicle,” the presiding judge said, adding that the court had considered the defendant’s age, prior record, the circumstances of the crime and his conduct afterward in determining the sentence.

The case comes as assaults on taxi and bus drivers remain a stubborn problem, even after lawmakers moved to strengthen penalties.

A 2015 revision to the law expanded the definition of a vehicle “in operation” to include not only those in motion but also those temporarily stopped, allowing harsher punishment for attacks on drivers.

According to police data, 3,498 cases of driver assault were recorded in 2024, following 3,947 in 2023, 4,368 in 2022 and 4,258 in 2021.

Under current law, assaulting a driver of a vehicle in operation is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won ($14,500).

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JUNG-SEOK [[email protected]]