Five-man brawl breaks out between alleged Daejeon gangsters

Five men believed to be affiliated with organized crime were caught by police after engaging in a violent brawl in Daejeon early Sunday, authorities said Tuesday.

The fight broke out between two groups of three and two men, who exchanged punches in front of a building in the city's Seo District at around 5:20 a.m, according to the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency.

Police arrested two individuals at the scene on charges of assault and booked the remaining three on suspicion of taking part in the fight.

The entire incident was captured on nearby surveillance camera footage, which shows the men grappling and throwing punches at one another. One of the individuals had removed his shirt  during the fight, revealing extensive tattoos across his upper torso.

The altercation is believed to have started inside an elevator after the group had been drinking at the same bar. The brawl reportedly lasted about 10 minutes until police arrived following a report from a passerby.

The individuals reportedly attempted to downplay the incident by telling police that they injured themselves by falling down.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the exact circumstances that led to the fight.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY SHIN HYE-YEON [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]