These days, conflicts, violence, and even murder are occurring in Korea due to floor noise. At around 6 p.m. on the 30th of last month, in front of an apartment in Ichon-dong, Seoul, police officers from Yongsan Police Station hovered around the apartment and carefully inspected the area. Due to the floor noise conflict, a resident made a disturbance by pointing a knife at a security guard. “While enduring the shouting and the sound of turning off the walker in the house at night, neighbors reported floor noise and came back threatening a weapon,” said B, a resident. A man in his 40s, who was put on trial for visiting his upper house and threatening to “cut off his child’s foot” in a $10 million apartment in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to probation. The Criminal Appeals Division 2-2 of the Seoul Western District Court sentenced Lee (44) to two years of probation in August at an appeal trial on charges of special intimidation and special property damage. It is the same ruling as the first trial. The appeals court dismissed both the defendant and the prosecutor’s appeals, saying, “There is no reason for any change in sentencing after the first trial, and the sentencing cannot be considered reasonable.” Lee is accused of threatening the front door with a 30-centimeter-long rubber hammer in October last year when he visited the upper house, which had been in conflict over floor noise for nearly a year. At the time, Lee reportedly threatened to “cut off his child’s foot.” In August last year, the first trial sentenced Lee to two years of probation after judging that the degree of crime was dangerous, such as damaging the front door with dangerous objects, and that the crime continued even though he knew that there were young children at the crime site. A man in his 40s who killed his neighbor was caught by the police after an inter-floor noise dispute.
The Gangseo Police Station in Seoul said it arrested and is investigating a man in his 40s who is suspected of murder at 9:40 a.m. on the 2nd. A is accused of having an argument with a woman in her 50s over floor noise and wielding a weapon to kill the woman. The victim was taken to a hospital in a cardiac arrest, but she eventually died. Police are investigating the man for details of the incident.
As such, accidents and accidents occur every day. In Korea, most residential apartments are apartments, seeking convenience with various social services, and most apartments in Seoul cost more than $1 million on average. It is divided into Gangnam and Gangbuk, centering on the Han River, and is named Gangdong and Gangseo to the east and west. There are usually 1,500 to 3,000 households.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
