Parents of Sexual Violence Victim Student in Yeonggwang, Jeonnam Demand Punishment of School Officials and Transfer of Perpetrator

"School officials still do not admit their mistakes and have not even offered a proper apology"

The deceased student holding a certificate and a diploma while being congratulated at the elementary school graduation party. Photo by the victim's family

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] “Instead of solving the problem, the school is shifting the responsibility onto us, and the perpetrator’s parents are even accusing their deceased son of being the offender.” The anger of the parents, who sent their precious son to the afterlife first and feel sorry for not protecting him, remains intense.

On the 3rd, Kim Mo (14), who attended an alternative middle school in Yeonggwang, Jeonnam, passed away three days after being hospitalized due to stress and acute pancreatitis. That day was his mother’s birthday.

Kim had reported to the school that he was sexually assaulted by classmates in the school dormitory and demanded appropriate measures against the perpetrators. However, the school’s response was lukewarm.

Despite repeated requests to separate the victim and the perpetrators, the offenders attended school normally for a week after the incident was reported. On the contrary, the victim was unable to attend school due to fear, which ultimately led to his death.

On the 25th, Kim’s parent, Mr. A, told Asia Economy, “Our son suffered a terrible ordeal and died in pain, but the school officials still do not admit their fault and have not even offered a proper apology,” expressing their grief.

Mr. A said, “The school distorted the truth to the education office and police, making it seem as if our usually healthy son had health problems,” showing a hospital medical report. “Our son had recently received a health checkup at the hospital with no abnormalities found.”

Upon reviewing the documents provided by Kim’s parent Mr. A, it was confirmed that the deceased student had undergone a health checkup on April 6, which showed ‘no abnormal findings’ in all organs including the pancreas, gallbladder wall, and splenomegaly.

On the 21st, the attending physician issued a medical opinion stating, “Based on the abdominal ultrasound findings, the deceased child’s pancreatitis is judged to be acute pancreatitis.”

The attending physician issued a medical report stating that there were no abnormal findings in all organs, including the pancreas, gallbladder wall, and splenomegaly. Photo by the victim's family

Mr. A said, “The doctor even issued a statement saying ‘there was no problem in the abdominal ultrasound,’ yet the school transformed our healthy son into a child with a chronic illness, leaking this to not only the education office and police but also some media outlets, killing our child twice.”

He added, “One of the perpetrators is even accusing our son, the victim, of being the offender,” and “I will risk my life to reveal the truth to restore my son’s honor.”

Regarding the task force established on the 20th, Mr. A pointed out, “When the task force was initially formed, out of 15 total members, we were only allowed to recommend two people. Among them was a member who had exhibited problematic behavior in the previous school violence committee.” He continued, “Therefore, we had no choice but to raise concerns about fairness and equity, and only then did the education support office remove the problematic member and increase the recommended members to three.”

He lamented, “Do they understand the feelings of parents who sent their son to heaven on his birthday?” and “We have suffered pain greater than death, and our body and mind have been devastated.”

Finally, he stated, “We earnestly hope for a sincere apology from the school and for the school officials to be punished,” and “We also hope the perpetrators are transferred to another school so that no other students suffer such harm again.”

The deceased student, who attended an alternative school in Yeonggwang, was sexually assaulted in the dormitory and died during hospital treatment. The student’s parents expressed their grievance and posted a petition on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 15th, which had received 158,426 signatures as of 3:50 PM on the 25th.

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education and the Provincial Council’s Education Committee formed a task force after meeting with the victim’s parents to investigate the facts, and the police are also investigating whether the perpetrator’s sexual assault is related to the death.

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