Three senior citizens stabbed in S. Korea after one of them called a 37-year-old woman ‘auntie’
Published on: Monday, March 06, 2023
By: Malay Mail
The use of the word 'ajumma' has grown to have a negative connotation among Koreans. (AFP pic)
Kuala Lumpur: A woman went on a stabbing spree at the subway injuring three people after one of the victims called her ‘ajumma’ or auntie in Korean.
The 37-year-old suspect was charged with injuring two women in her 60s and a man in his 50s inside a train headed to Jukjeon Station in the city of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Korea Herald reported.
ADVERTISEMENT Police said the suspect was on the phone when one of the two women asked her to lower her voice, calling her ‘ajumma’ which she said offended her.
One of the victims ended up having to undergo surgery, although injuries were not fatal.
Police have requested an arrest warrant for the accused based on the charge of “special violence” inflicted on another.
Similar to aggravated assault, this charge can be made when an injury has been inflicted via a deadly weapon or collective force, and is punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
ADVERTISEMENT Although the word ‘ajumma’ is a casual way of referring to a middle-aged woman who is unrelated to the speaker coming from the more polite word, ‘ajumeoni’, it has grown to have a negative connotation over the years among Koreans.
The use of the word ‘ajumma’ has led to controversies in the past.
ADVERTISEMENT
In 2021, then Seoul mayoral candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the now-disbanded People’s Party, came under fire when referring to his opponent, Park Young-sun of the Democratic Party of Korea, as an “ajumma who has an apartment in Tokyo”.
In 2019, a local court upheld the Army’s decision to suspend a colonel, saying that his references to female subordinates as ‘ajumma’ had derogatory implications.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.