Elementary School Student Death in Daejeon, South Korea

Daejeon, South Koreawitnessed an unthinkable event. The shock was so great that it felt unreal. The brutal murder of an 8-year-old elementary school student by a current teacher at school is an incomprehensible, shocking, and appalling act.

The fact that such an unspeakable crime occurred in a school, a place that should be the safest environment, is absolutely unacceptable. The fact that a teacher committed a crime against a student signifies a breakdown of fundamental trust, which is bound to cause significant problems in the future.

Furthermore, parents are sharing information about child protection applications (apps). “Please let me know if there’s an app that lets you hear the surrounding sounds without making a call”, “(Apps) are essential tools to avoid being involved in bullying or crime”.The father of the victim, Ha-neul, met with reporters and said,“I heard the sounds in real-time (after the crime) using a child protection app,”This heightened parental interest, because installing this app on a child's phone allows parents to track their location and listen to the surrounding sounds without making a call.

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According to the police, around 5:50 PM on the 10th,an 8-year-old first-grader, student A, and a 40-year-old teacher B (in charge of support work at Neulbom School), were found stabbed in a storage room in the school's audio-visual room on the second floor of an elementary school building in Gwanjeo-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon. Emergency responders who arrived on the scene after receiving a report took the unconscious student A to a nearby hospital, but they passed away.

The perpetrator, B, received treatment for injuries to their neck and arm. Police reported that B stabbed student A with a knife before attempting self-harm. The investigation into the circumstances of the incident began immediately after emergency surgery. Police stated that the teacher confessed to the murder charge and are investigating the exact motive.

Teacher B reportedly took a 6-month sick leave due to depression before returning to work in December of the previous year. The fact that a teacher in such an unstable state was in charge of support work at Neulbom School raises questions, suggesting that the school itself exacerbated the problem.

The teacher in question took a 6-month sick leave in December of the previous year due to ‘depression’ but returned to work prematurely after only 25 days. Questions arise about why they returned early and whether their depressive symptoms were carefully examined. It is questionable whether their status as a full-time teacher, not a temporary teacher, contributed to the disregard for these basic procedures.

“The teacher exhibited violent behavior, such as twisting the arm of a fellow teacher on the 6th, prompting the dispatch of a school supervisor, but the incident occurred on the same day.”

“Teacher B, who had taken a leave of absence due to depression and other issues, returned to work at the end of last year. When a fellow teacher saw B wandering alone in a darkened classroom on the 6th and tried to engage them in conversation, offering to walk them home or chat, B used a headlock or forcefully grabbed their wrist.”

“In response, the school cautioned Teacher B, made them apologize to the fellow teacher, and had them work next to the vice-principal.”

At a briefing on February 11th, Choi Jae-mo, director of the Daejeon Office of Education, revealed crucial information. The perpetrator had already caused problems on January 6th, exhibiting violent behavior, including twisting a fellow teacher's arm. The Daejeon Office of Education immediately dispatched a school supervisor.

The victimized teacher approached the perpetrator with concern, but the perpetrator responded aggressively. The measures taken are bewildering.Is this because it was an elementary school? The response of a warning, an apology to the victimized teacher, and reassignment to work next to the vice-principal, is baffling, suggesting a belief that this resolved the issue.

For a typical teacher, such a response might be acceptable. However, this was an individual who had taken a sick leave due to depression and yet returned prematurely. A more thorough assessment of the teacher's fitness for duty was necessary. It is questionable whether they were capable of fulfilling their role as a teacher. The act of violence against a fellow teacher was clearly a negative sign.

This situation should have been taken more seriously. While this is a case of hindsight, the question remains whether the decision was made solely because of the teacher's status, even after warning signs were evident. At the very least, they should not have been assigned after-school duties.

The Daejeon West Office of Education reportedly suggested that the teacher should be separated through leave, after assessing the situation. Two school supervisors were dispatched to the school on the previous day for an on-site inspection, yet the murder occurred that afternoon. It is incomprehensible why these measures were not implemented.

It is significant that the school assigned the problematic teacher to specialized subject teaching duties. It is incomprehensible why this problematic teacher was assigned after-school duties, especially during the school break and despite the education office's call for separation.

“As a father of a daughter of the same age, this is a heartbreaking event, and I cannot even begin to imagine the emotions of the victim's parents. I offer my deepest condolences to the deceased, and pray that the bereaved family receives the necessary support.”

“The perpetrator must face appropriate punishment. However, it is inappropriate for the media to rush to mention the teacher's history of sick leave for depression when nothing has been revealed.”

“The guilt lies with the guilty party, not depression. Such reports reinforce social stigma against depression, preventing those who desperately need help from seeking treatment, further exacerbating South Korea’s mental health crisis.”

“The treatment rate for depression in South Korea is still only 10%. Nine out of ten people do not receive proper treatment. Human lives are not only saved by doctors. A pen can also save and kill people. Please keep this in mind.”

Regarding this incident, Najong-ho, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University, stated,“The guilt lies with the guilty party, not depression,”This is because the media is suggesting that the teacher committed the act due to depression. This is clearly erroneous reporting.

It is crucial to report cautiously, as it reinforces the social stigma that those with depression engage in such extreme behaviors. This type of indiscriminate reporting is not new. Media reports that assume specific situations and promote misconceptions are tantamount to crime.

“I committed the crime because I was annoyed at being excluded from the class. I intended to die with the child who was leaving after the after-school program. I lured the last child out by saying, ‘I will give you a book,’ and took them to the audio-visual room to commit the crime.”

This is the statement made by the perpetrator in a police investigation. Is the claim that they committed murder due to annoyance from being excluded from class truly rational? The perpetrator’s actions show that the crime was meticulously planned, suggesting no element of spontaneity.

The shocking aspect of this incident is not just the death of the 8-year-old child. What is even more serious is that the crime was committed by a teacher in a school, a place that should be the safest environment, and that the teacher brutally murdered a young student. This act crosses an unbreakable line, destroying trust. How can anyone trust teachers and send their children to school after this? Restoring this broken trust is paramount.

Elementary School Student Death in Daejeon, South Korea - School Safety Issues

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