A video showing a bus driver shouting and cursing at a student on a city bus in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, has sparked controversy after being made public.
According to JTBC's "Sageon Banjang" (Crime Chief), the incident occurred around 4 p.m. on January 12 on a bus operating in downtown Cheonan.
A person identified as "A," who submitted the video, described the situation: "It was after school hours, so the bus was very crowded with students and regular passengers." A added, "A student standing near the back door got off following other disembarking passengers, then got back on the bus, repeating this behavior two or three times."
According to A, the bus driver, upon seeing the student's behavior, suddenly began raising his voice at the student, asking why the student kept getting off and back on. The situation escalated after the student got off the bus.
The driver opened the front door without fully departing and began shouting at the student who had disembarked. During this exchange, he reportedly hurled a stream of profanity and verbal abuse, including "Do you think bus drivers are a joke?", "What kind of [expletive] [expletive] are you?", "Where does a young [expletive] like you get off?", "Is that what they teach you at school?", and "What school do you go to?"
"The driver's verbal abuse continued for about five minutes," A said. "Passengers sitting on the bus were expressing their discomfort, saying 'Stop it and let's go.'" The video reportedly shows passengers trying to intervene and demanding the bus depart.
The bus finally started moving again only after the student apologized, saying "I'm sorry." The bus reportedly remained stationary until the student's apology.
Regarding the situation, A said, "When the student got off the bus, he glanced at the driver once, and it seems the driver interpreted that as the student glaring at him, which made his emotions escalate further."
After the story became known, netizens criticized the bus driver's excessive response.
Comments included: "How can passengers feel safe riding a bus when a driver carrying many passengers behaves like that?", "In a crowded situation, people can get off and back on," and "He seems to have anger management issues."
However, some offered different perspectives: "Repetitive behavior could have been burdensome when he needed to focus on driving," and "The student's behavior or manner of speaking should also be examined."
