Noise complaint escalates to death threats in Busan

[Anchor]

Recently, a man in his 30s was arrested in Busan for allegedly threatening to kill a neighbor who reported him for noise complaints.

Cases where conflicts over noise between floors escalate into serious crimes are increasing, and there is growing anxiety due to the lack of clear measures.

This is Choi Wi-ji reporting.

[Report]

The police are taking a man in his 30s into custody and putting him in a patrol car.

This man was arrested as he was holding a weapon and saying that he would not leave the people living above him alone.

He was enraged after a resident from the upper apartment reported him to the police for banging on the ceiling.

[Upper Apartment Resident/Voice Altered: "I felt anxious and threatened for my life. I wonder what would have happened if I had run into him when he came up; I could have been stabbed right away...."]

The resident from the upper apartment claims that he has been continuously harassed by the man from the lower apartment since he moved in two years ago.

[Upper Apartment Resident/Voice Altered: "Whether it's showering in the bathroom or just flushing the toilet, it's a big deal. I haven't brushed my teeth at the sink for over two years now."]

He claims that the man has distributed notes filled with insults and even made death threats.

[Lower Apartment Man/Voice Altered: "Why don't you die, you XX!"]

This man was recently sentenced to three months in prison with a one-year suspended sentence for violating the stalking law, but he was arrested again for attempting to threaten with a weapon while an appeal is ongoing.

Despite reporting to the noise complaint center and the apartment management office intervening, all efforts have been in vain.

[Upper Apartment Resident/Voice Altered: "(I asked for help) through the petition system many times. I wrote to the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor's Office...."]

In January, a murder case occurred in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, and the number of serious crimes stemming from noise complaints has increased tenfold over the past five years.

It is no longer possible to view conflicts over noise between floors merely as personal disputes.

[Choi Jong-sool/Professor of Police Administration at Dong-Eui University: "There are many cases that could escalate into crimes of rage, so if the police can intervene and establish a legal basis for mediation and resolution...."]

The government operates a noise dispute mediation committee, but it takes a long time, and the actual cases that reach mediation are less than one in ten, raising concerns about its effectiveness.

This is KBS News, Choi Wi-ji.