Exclusive: 70-Year-Old Taxi Driver Brutally Assaulted in Downtown Daegu Over Honking

[Anchor]

A 70-year-old taxi driver was subjected to a brutal, unprovoked assault by a man in his 20s in Dongseong-ro, a busy downtown area in Daegu, simply for honking his horn. When police arrived at the scene, the assailant claimed that he, too, had been assaulted. However, CCTV footage obtained by our news team clearly shows a one-sided attack.

Reporter Kim su-yun has the exclusive report.

[Reporter]

It was 1:00 a.m. on June 20 on a road in Dongseong-ro, Daegu.

When a 70-year-old taxi driver, identified as A, honked his horn out of concern for a potential collision with a nearby vehicle, a man in his 20s standing on the side of the road suddenly began hurling insults and kicked the taxi multiple times.

["Why did you honk? You son of a b****. You honked your horn."]

[Victim (Taxi Driver): "I honked because I was worried about a side-swipe accident. But it seems the person on the street took offense to the sound. At some point, he came over and started kicking the front bumper of my car."]

When A tried to get back into his car after protesting, the man dragged him into the middle of the five-lane road, knocked him down, and began the assault.

Even when A tried to flee, the man chased him down, continuing to punch and kick him.

After briefly stopping to smoke a cigarette he had purchased at a nearby convenience store with his companions, the man, seemingly still enraged, dragged A out of the taxi again, knocked him to the ground, and stomped on him.

[Victim (Taxi Driver): "I didn't even have time to think. I was just getting hit. He kept following me around and beating me. I would get caught and beaten again."]

The assault, which lasted for over five minutes in the heart of the busy Dongseong-ro district, only stopped after bystanders intervened.

When police arrived, the assailant claimed that he had also been assaulted.

A, who suffered severe injuries including a back injury that requires five weeks of treatment, is currently unable to work as a taxi driver.

[Victim (Taxi Driver): "I'm actually afraid. Because of the trauma, I don't even know if I can continue driving a taxi..."]

The Daegu Jungbu Police Station stated, "After reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence, we determined this was not a mutual altercation, so we have not booked the taxi driver, A. We are currently considering requesting an arrest warrant for the assailant on charges of assault resulting in injury."

(Video reporting: Jung Gyeong-mun | Video editing: Kim Jong-tae | Design: Jo Su-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.