ASSAULT CASES AGAINST PARAMEDICS

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In 2018, a female paramedic was beaten to death by a patient who she was transporting. Over 200 cases of assault against paramedics occur annually and in most of them, the assailants were drunk. Those who attack paramedics will face strict punishment starting this year.

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A man in his 60s was being transported to a hospital after being found lying on the street. He suddenly sat up and began threatening the paramedic. He even grabbed the paramedic by the collar and threw punches. The assailant was intoxicated at the time.

[Soundbite] (Paramedic on duty(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "I had to give his personal information to the hospital. So I asked his name. But he hit me in the face and back about three times, refusing to give his name."

In another ambulance. This drunk man got injured in the head. He refused to get transported to the hospital, then kicked a paramedic. A total of 647 cases of assault against paramedics were reported over the past three years. In 2018, a female paramedic was killed in such an incident.

[Soundbite] Jeong Eun-ae(Union of Fire-fighting Officials) : "We get mental, emotional wounds rather than physical ones. Our rescue activities are discouraged. We even sweat when seeing a person looking like the assailant."

Nearly nine out of ten such assailants were drunk. But most of them got away with lenient punishment, just because they were under the influence of alcohol. Of such offenders, 23.8 percent were freed with charges dismissed. Only 6.6 percent were put behind bars. But this will change starting this year, as a revised law has gone into effect to ensure stern punishment for those attacking paramedics.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-han(National Fire Agency) : "No commutation will be allowed for the assailants. We will strictly deal with such cases from the stage of investigation and work to prevent recurrences."

Under the law, those assaulting paramedics will face a prison term of up to five years or fines of as much as 50 million won. The National Fire Agency vows to sternly deal with assaults against paramedics with zero tolerance and protect its workers from violence.