Following the incident, he attempted to cover up the crime by exploiting the worker's undocumented status.
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A South Korean manufacturing company owner who severely injured a Thai migrant worker by firing high-pressure air from an industrial air gun into his body has been sentenced to three years in prison
Judge Koo Na-young of the Suwon District Court handed down the three-year prison sentence to the metal-cleaning company owner, a man in his 60s identified in court documents only as A, following his conviction on charges of aggravated bodily injury and violations of the Labour Standards Act, according to Korea Times.
The court also dismissed related intimidation charges against A's wife, identified as B, after the victim formally requested that she not face punishment.
The incident took place on 20 February at a factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province
According to court records, A grabbed the victim, a Thai national in his 40s identified as C, around the waist with one hand, pressed the nozzle of an industrial air gun directly against his anal area, and blasted high-pressure compressed air for roughly seven to eight seconds.
The assault left C with internal injuries, including a traumatic rectal perforation measuring over 10cm that required emergency life-saving surgery.
Throughout the assault, the victim resisted and pleaded with his employer to stop, but his cries were ignored.
Following the incident, he attempted to cover up the crime by exploiting the worker's undocumented status
Despite receiving urgent warnings from medical staff that C required immediate emergency surgery at a tertiary hospital, A threatened to report him to immigration authorities and urged him to leave the country that same night, even going so far as to deduct the resulting medical costs directly from C's wages.
During trial proceedings, defence lawyers claimed that A had merely sprayed the air gun three times as a lighthearted prank without inserting the nozzle or holding it down for several seconds
However, the court rejected this defence entirely, citing consistent victim testimony alongside matching forensic medical evaluations.
"Considering the victim's consistent testimony and medical records, it is established that the defendant held the victim by the waist with one hand, inserted the nozzle into his anus and sprayed air for seven or eight seconds," Judge Koo stated during sentencing, noting that the severity of the offence was compounded by A's total lack of remorse and his calculated attempts to deny medical care.
Prosecution officials had originally sought a seven-year sentence for A alongside a one-year term for his wife before the victim requested that B not be punished.
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