An incident occurred at a luxury apartment in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where a delivery driver was assaulted with a cane by a resident in his 60s. The cause of the assault was found to be a misunderstanding over closing the elevator doors. The case has been forwarded to the prosecution, and the poor working conditions at the apartment, including a ban on delivery carts, are also being revisited.

Assault That Occurred in Front of Elevator on the 16th of Last Month

Mr. A, a delivery driver in his 40s responsible for deliveries at the apartment, was assaulted by a resident while on duty on the 16th of last month. When the elevator arrived on the first floor and the doors opened, an elderly male resident struck Mr. A in the solar plexus with his cane. The assault was fully recorded on a body camera that Mr. A was wearing to prevent delivery errors.

In the footage, when Mr. A protested, "Are you hitting me?" the man shouted, "You saw me coming and just went up? You bastard." He then struck delivery boxes on the first floor with his hand, knocking them to the ground, and hurled profanities, saying, "You rotten son of a bitch." The man swung his cane again toward Mr. A's lower body vital points, and Mr. A, who tried to block it, suffered additional blows to his thigh. When Mr. A said, "Why are you hitting me? I'm going to report this," the man continued his verbal abuse, saying, "Go ahead and report it, punk" and "I should beat you senseless." Mr. A was later diagnosed with rib sprains and chest contusions.

Misunderstanding About Closed Doors... The Person Who Actually Pressed the Button Was Another Resident

Mr. A did not know the reason for the assault at the scene, but after reviewing the body camera footage, he discovered that the man had mistakenly believed Mr. A had closed the elevator doors. In reality, it was not Mr. A but another resident who had boarded the elevator who pressed the door close button. At the time, Mr. A was organizing deliveries placed on the floor inside the elevator.

Mr. A claimed that this assailant resident had shown a hostile attitude toward delivery drivers on a regular basis. He said the resident had previously used abusive language, saying, "Why do these delivery punks use the elevator?"

"I Endured It for Fear of Losing My Workplace... Decided to Sue After Receiving No Apology"

Mr. A stated, "I had endured it all this time for fear of losing my workplace, but the assailant didn't even apologize, so I ultimately decided to file a lawsuit." He also expressed that he felt wronged during the police investigation. He said the police displayed an attitude suggesting, "The assailant is elderly and appears to be in poor health, so why did you protest? Your protesting doesn't look good."

Meanwhile, at this apartment, delivery carts have been banned since the elevator replacement last year on the grounds that "the new elevators could be damaged." As a result, delivery drivers have been forced to carry heavy loads by hand. Mr. A appealed for improvements to the working environment of carrying loads without carts, saying, "I want to receive a sincere apology."