Torture by Pouring Hot Water on Peers... What to Do About Youth Violence?

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] Violence among adolescents and records of school violence during adolescence are coming under scrutiny. Teenagers who extorted money, confined their peers in motel rooms, and even tortured them have been sentenced to prison terms.

On the 23rd, Judge Suhyun Park of the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced A (19) to 8 months in prison on charges including violation of the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes (joint confinement and joint injury). Co-defendant B (19) was sentenced to 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation, along with probation and 80 hours of community service. C (17), who was also indicted, was sent to the Juvenile Division of the Suwon Family Court.

A and C called out a 16-year-old male victim last year. They threatened the victim to extort 100,000 won via bank transfer for motel fees and other expenses, and around 4 a.m. on the same day, took the victim into a motel. They stripped the victim and confined and assaulted him for about 15 hours and 30 minutes. They hit the victim’s face and chest and even poured hot water from a coffee pot onto the victim’s chest, causing second-degree burns.

The court explained the sentencing by stating, "They jointly assaulted and confined the victim without any particular reason and extorted money. Although the victim signed a settlement agreement with A and B, the testimony in court does not suggest that the victim does not want punishment."

Recently, violence in schools has been escalating. Not only physical violence but also verbal and cyber violence are becoming more diverse. According to the ‘2020 School Violence Survey’ conducted by the Ministry of Education from September to October last year, targeting about 3.57 million students from 4th grade elementary to 2nd grade high school nationwide, the types of victimization were highest in verbal violence (33.6%), group bullying (26.0%), and cyber violence (12.3%). Among these, group bullying increased by 2.8 percentage points and cyber violence by 3.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. The proportion of the other six types of victimization, including verbal violence, all decreased. Although physical violence decreased due to COVID-19, violence has also been rampant online.

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