"Middle School Student Claiming 'Group Sexual Assault' Dies on Mother's Birthday"

The father of the victim student, holding a one-person protest in front of the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, demanding a thorough investigation.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] A middle school student who claimed to have been subjected to group sexual violence in Yeonggwang, Jeollanam-do, and was under investigation, reportedly died on his mother’s birthday, causing sorrow among those around him.

The deceased student’s parents claimed that despite informing the school and the education office about the harm their son suffered, no proper measures were taken against the perpetrators, and due to the negligent response, they endured stress and ultimately died from sepsis.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education and the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency on the 15th, a report was received last month that A (14), a boy at a middle school dormitory in Yeonggwang, was habitually sexually assaulted by three male students.

The explanation from A’s parents is as follows.

A, who first attended school on the 7th of last month, was reportedly subjected to group sexual violence by three friends in the dormitory every night from 10 p.m. starting two days later.

They forced A to perform sexual acts and masturbation, and when he refused, they verbally abused him, even mentioning his parents. A disclosed this to his homeroom teacher on the 19th of last month and strongly demanded that the school separate him from the perpetrators, but no action was taken, they said.

Later, on the 29th of last month, A heard that one of the perpetrators was still attending school, causing him to lose sleep all night and suffer from abdominal pain. The next day, A was hospitalized with stress-induced acute pancreatitis and reportedly died suddenly from sepsis three days later.

The school held a review committee on the 22nd of last month and imposed measure No. 2 under the School Violence Prevention Act (prohibition of contact, threats, and retaliation against the victim and reporting students) on the perpetrators.

Previously, A’s parents judged that the perpetrators and victims could not be in the same school and strongly demanded measure No. 6 (suspension of attendance).

However, according to A’s parents, the school only added measure No. 5 (special education or psychological treatment by experts inside or outside the school) under the School Violence Prevention Act.

A’s parents said, “The school repeatedly urged us not to disclose the victimization elsewhere and was only eager to cover up the incident,” expressing their pain, “How would a parent feel who sent their child to heaven on their birthday?”

They continued, “The moment our son died, our lives ended as well,” and tearfully said, “We cannot overlook the negligent response and poor management by the education office and school. We are holding a one-person protest to reveal our son’s unjust death.”

Regarding the criticism of poor management, a school official explained, “The police investigation has not been finalized, and we must also guarantee the perpetrators’ right to learn, so suspension of attendance is difficult,” adding, “We followed the proper manual.”

An official from the provincial education office said, “It is difficult to accurately determine the cause of the victim’s death, and there are conflicting claims between the victim and the perpetrators, so the police are currently investigating,” and refrained from further comment.

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency and the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education are investigating whether the perpetrators sexually molested A and the connection to his death based on his statements before he died.

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