'Do you know who my father is?': Woman ignores virus rules on train, yells at complainer

A woman on a KTX train heading to Seoul on Feb. 28 eats food, ignoring the coronavirus safety rules. Screen capture from YouTube

By Ko Dong-hwan

A high-speed intercity train passenger ignored the virus safety rules by taking off her mask, eating food and yelling at a person who complained about her misdemeanor ― asking, "Do you know who my father is?"

The woman was video-recorded on Feb. 28 ― inside a KTX train bound to Seoul ― by another passenger who confronted her. Despite a public announcement from a train officer reminding passengers not to eat food in compliance of the government's COVID-19 preventive measures, she continued eating and drinking.

The male passenger, who posted the video online and informed the public about her behavior, said a train officer came to give the woman who was eating bread a warning but when the officer left she took out a hamburger and a drink and continued eating.

She continued to draw attention there with antisocial behavior, loudly talking on her phone while toying with her long hair much to the discomfort of the passenger sitting behind her. There was another announcement about talking loudly on the phone inside the train, which she again ignored.

The man then asked her to take the food to a rest area in between cars and eat there. But the woman, according to him, ignored his request and told him "what I eat is none of your business" and called him a "pathetic loser." The enraged woman continued insulting him, "You wouldn't dare talk to me like that if you knew who my father is. You better watch out."

The man said online on Mar. 1 he was tipped off by an anonymous person online about the woman's identity. After finding out her social media accounts on Instagram and KakaoTalk, he sent her a text message. Two days later, she apologized to him and he shared that online.

She said in her apology that she was in a nervous state because of hunger and ate the food despite the virus safety rule. "I don't know why I had acted that way when it was obviously something that anyone at the scene could point a finger at," she said.

The woman left the train without intervention from rail staff which only serves to add fuel to rising national concern over passengers on public transportation who break virus safety rules without consequence.

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