A 20-something individual has been ordered to pay nearly 200 million won ($135,000) in damages for forcefully pushing a friend off a playground swing that left the friend severely injured, officials said Sunday.
The Cheongju District Court partially favored the victim and ordered the defendant to pay 196 million won in damages out of the 217 million won the victim sought.
The incident took place at a playground in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in December 2020. The defendant allegedly pushed the friend, who was on the swing, too forcefully four times, causing the friend to slip off and fall to the ground.
The push severely injured the victim's spine, requiring 32 weeks of treatment and resulting in permanent complications.
The court explained that the defendant pushed the swing too hard and failed to consider the risk of injury. It calculated the damages based on a 22 percent loss of earning capacity and medical expenses.
The court, however, also found the victim partly responsible, citing a failure to ask the defendant to stop or properly hold onto the swing, and assigned 10 percent contributory negligence.
Previously, the court had fined the defendant 5 million won for causing injury through negligence under a summary indictment for this incident.
junheee@heraldcorp.com
