[Newsmaker] Public fury grows over Jeju road rage

A video in which a driver assaulted another driver who had been complaining about the former’s aggressive driving, went viral Friday, sparking public outrage and calls for punishment for the violent driver.

In the video, a van continued to change lanes on a road on Jeju Island at around 10:40 a.m. on July 4. When another motorist protested about his reckless driving, the 30-something van driver left his vehicle to assault the motorist.

The van driver was seen taking away a mobile phone of the wife of the victim as she was filming the scene. The victim’s 5-year-old and 8-year-old children were sitting in the back of the vehicle at the time of the assault. The children are thought to have been taken to hospital for mental therapy.

Jeju Dongbu Police Station booked the van driver on charges of assault and property damage for further investigation.

As the video clip went viral, online petition asking for a thorough probe into the case emerged on the presidential office’s website. The police station’s website is being bombarded with posts calling for tough punishment for the assailant.

As of 11:30 a.m., the petition garnered more than 26,000 signatures.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)