A South Korean man who sustained serious injuries while trying to stop an assault of a woman will be designated as a "wounded noble person" by the law and receive state compensation, the city government of Jinju said Monday.
The city government recently granted a model citizen certificate to the man in his 50s, and is preparing for the abovementioned official designation. The Act on Honorable Treatment and Support for Persons Who Died or Were Injured for Public Good stipulates benefits for those who died or were injured while making rescue efforts without any official duty to do so.
One meeting such criteria is defined as a "deceased or wounded noble person" by the act, and can receive compensation, benefits when getting jobs, and can even be buried in the National Cemetery in cases of particularly valuable contributions.
"He sacrificed himself while trying to rescue a citizen, so we (Jinju city) decided that we should help him... In addition to the designation, we will arrange for him to get a new job and help him in other affairs as well," the city said.
Last November, a 20-something man started attacking a female store convenience store clerk also in her 20s in Hadae-dong, Jinju. The attacker told the victim that he suspected her to be a feminist, based on her short hair, and said "feminists should be beaten up."
The victim sustained serious injuries, including permanent impairment of her hearing.
The 50-something man was at the site and tried to stop the attacker, but he too sustained serious injuries to his face and shoulder. He had to quit his job due to the trauma from the incident, and has been suffering from financial hardship since then.
He told the victim that he could not just stand there "as a father," since his own daughter was around the victim's age. "I'd do the same if it happened all over again. I believe other people, anyone else, would've done the same," he was quoted as saying.
The suspect who assaulted both people is slated to be sentenced in Changwon District Court on Tuesday. The prosecutors have requested five years in prison on the charge of special bodily injury on another.
