청 "Comprehensive Review of Sex Education for Young Children... Strengthening Gender Sensitivity Programs"

Kim Yu-im, Secretary for Women and Family at the Blue House, is responding to a national petition regarding 'infant sexual problematic behavior incidents' on the 21st. (Photo by Blue House YouTube)

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 21st, the Blue House announced in response to a petition regarding the 'Sexual misconduct incident among toddlers at a daycare center in Seongnam' that it will "conduct a comprehensive review of sex education for young children, strengthen gender awareness education programs, and designate responsible teachers at daycare centers and kindergartens."

Kim Yu-im, Secretary for Women and Family Affairs at the Blue House, stated in the petition response, "We will designate teachers responsible for gender awareness education at daycare centers and kindergartens and provide in-service training so that these teachers can directly conduct education on-site." She added, "To enhance the gender equality capabilities of school staff, we will supplement the in-service training curriculum with gender awareness and gender equality subjects," and "We will also conduct education for parents and guardians to support the healthy sexual development of their children."

The petition, raised on December 2 last year, garnered a total of 241,135 supporters over one month. Notably, it met the response requirement by gaining over 200,000 supporters within just one day of being made public. The petitioner stated, "My daughter attending a daycare center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was sexually assaulted by a boy from the same daycare center." Since the child involved is five years old and cannot be subject to criminal punishment, the petitioner urged active recovery through the parents. Additionally, the petitioner revealed that the perpetrator’s father is a current national athlete and demanded the revocation of his national team status.

Secretary Kim first expressed, "I offer my deepest condolences for the wounds suffered by your precious young child and the pain and suffering the parents are currently experiencing." She then explained, "Following discussions with relevant ministries, we confirmed that the current manuals and guidelines for addressing sexual misconduct among children are insufficient, and this incident highlighted the need for a more fundamental review focusing on the protection of young children," and announced improvement measures.

Secretary Kim said, "We will prepare countermeasures through social discussions on sexual behaviors among preschool-aged children," adding, "We will establish response manuals for incidents of problematic behavior and build a linkage system with specialized institutions." She further stated, "Daycare center staff will be encouraged to observe and monitor children's behavior more closely, and if problems arise, appropriate measures will be taken according to the law."

Regarding the demand to revoke the national team status of the perpetrator’s father, she explained, "According to the current regulations of the Korea Sports Council, disqualification and disciplinary actions for national team athletes can only be applied for 'direct misconduct by the athlete or coach themselves.'" She continued, "While we fully understand the petitioner’s feelings and position, we have conveyed that the case does not meet the criteria for disqualification." She emphasized, "We will take heavy responsibility to ensure children grow into healthy members of society by establishing a solid national sex education system that fosters correct sexual awareness from early childhood."

Secretary Kim concluded by expressing, "I extend my deepest condolences to the child who experienced this unfortunate event and to the petitioner," and sincerely wished, "I sincerely hope that the body and mind of the victim child and their family will heal as soon as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.