



By Jung Min-ho







A taxi driver has been sentenced to six months in prison for attacking a female passenger.





Seoul Western District Court said Monday that it convicted the driver, surnamed Bae, 65, of butting the woman in the face and twisting her arm in Seoul at around 10 p.m. on May 28, 2018, after she complained about "unusually high charges."





Bae, who had received a suspended prison term and fines for assaulting passengers seven times in the past, insisted that the woman hit him during the altercation, but the court did not accept the claim.





Despite previous convictions, he was able to keep working as a taxi driver because assaulting passengers is not a "disqualifying offense."





Under the law, a person who receives a two-year sentence or higher for murder, drugs or sexual assault, among other serious crimes, cannot work as a taxi driver for at least two years after finishing the sentence, but use of violence is not one of these crimes.

