In Busan, two drunken women in their 20s were caught by the police after mocking and assaulting a female taxi driver in her 70s. As the ‘immoral’ assault cases against elderly taxi drivers continue, taxi drivers are complaining of fear of driving at night.
The Busan Nambu Police Station announced on the 24th that it is investigating a woman in her 20s, Mr. B, for assaulting Mr. A, a female taxi driver in her 70s, while drunk.
According to Mr. A, Mr. B boarded a taxi in Seomyeon, Busanjin-gu, with her friend, Mr. C, a woman in her 20s, at 1:10 am on the 23rd. Mr. B’s party moved in front of Exit 4 of the International Finance Center in Munhyeon-dong, Nam-gu. When Mr. A asked to pay her taxi fare of 7800 won, she refused. During this process, she is reported to have tried to escape after displaying her mocking attitude, such as showing her mobile phone game screen to Mr. A and saying, “Here is the money.”
When Mr. A caught her and Mr. B’s group and reported them to the police, they cursed and pushed her Mr. A to the floor. Afterwards, Mr. A claims that he jumped on top of Mr. A who had fallen and grabbed her by the hair and hit her head on the floor. Mr. B’s party was arrested at around 2:00 am on the same day as current criminals at the Munhyeon district. Mr. A suffered two weeks of injuries, including bruises on her face and ankles due to her assault, and she is currently hospitalized. Mr. A said, “She has worked as a taxi driver for over 40 years and has had many unpleasant incidents, but this time she is the size of a granddaughter and she has never been severely assaulted by a drunkard.”
There are increasing cases of drunken young passengers assaulting older taxi drivers. On the 20th, a man in his 30s assaulted a male taxi driver in his 70s near Choryang-dong, Dong-gu, then stole the car of another male taxi driver in his 70s and was caught by the police. In June, a man in his 20s, a noncommissioned officer belonging to the Naval Operations Command, assaulted a male taxi driver in his 60s near Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, and was sent to the military prosecution. The sergeant allegedly threatened the taxi driver who got out of the car with a lighter, then took off his top and kicked and assaulted him.
Taxi drivers complain that they are defenseless against violence토토사이트 wielded by drunken passengers. Yeo Doo-jin (37), who has been working as a taxi driver for four years, said, “I was suddenly hit on the back of the neck by a drunk driver while driving in April of last year, but I couldn’t properly respond to the idea that the customer was the king.” I’m scared when I do it, but especially in the case of elderly knights, there is no way to deal with young people who go wild.”
The voice that a safe working environment should be guaranteed first for taxi drivers who are exposed to danger without defense is strong. It is said that a minimum safety device is required due to the nature of the taxi driver’s work, which has to greet customers in a narrow and enclosed space inside the taxi. Kim Hak-hak, head of the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Public Transportation Workers Union, said, “Recently, there is a phenomenon in which taxi drivers feel threatened and even avoid driving at night. We need active support from the city of Busan,” he argued.