"Paralyzed from Diving Due to Senior's Coercion"…Physical Education School Violence Victim Posts Petition on Blue House Website

Petition titled 'No More School Violence Victims'/Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A man in his 20s who entered a physical education university claims that he became quadriplegic due to school violence (hakpok) inflicted by a senior, raising the issue on the Blue House National Petition and online communities.

On the 19th, a petition titled "No More School Violence Victims" was posted on the Blue House National Petition board.

The petitioner, who identified themselves as an acquaintance of a school violence victim, said, "How many victims are there whose school violence cases go unnoticed and buried?" and added, "I felt so sorry for the unfair victimization of my acquaintances that I decided to post this petition."

The petitioner explained, "Five years ago, after a fierce entrance exam, my acquaintance's son was admitted to a physical education university and joined the swimming club. He took a part-time job as a lifeguard at the Children's Grand Park swimming pool, a tradition of the swimming club," adding, "(My acquaintance's son) only had enough swimming skills to hold onto a kickboard and kick his feet, but first-year students were required to participate due to club tradition. At that time, a third-year senior made the first-year juniors dive into the children's pool (110 cm deep) at the swimming pool."

They continued, "It was not just any dive, but a 'Superman' pose, where they had to tuck one arm by their ear and jump from ten steps back in a jumping posture, with the exact spot to jump from decided by the senior," and claimed, "My acquaintance's son, who is tall at 182 cm, ended up injuring his neck while diving into the shallow children's pool, resulting in quadriplegia and a disability that left him unable to move by himself."

They added, "After a tedious civil trial over the past few years, a verdict was delivered stating that there is a victim but no perpetrator," and lamented, "How can there be such an absurd ruling where the perpetrator's negligence is 0% and the victim's negligence is 100%?"

The petitioner questioned, "What kind of law does our country have? Even if an adult is sexually harassed or assaulted, or verbally abused by a workplace superior, is only the person who could not refuse at fault?" They pointed out, "My acquaintance's son must deeply regret his choice at that moment. Even if he had been hit there, he should have refused. If this is not school violence, then what is?"

They also said, "I heard that the hierarchical order between seniors and juniors in physical education universities is very different from that in regular universities," and stated, "We cannot just cover this up and move on, so we are appealing. It is very difficult to overturn a once-decided trial, but justice is alive, and I want to show that justice still exists in South Korea, where it is hard for this 25-year-old young man to live with a disability."

Finally, the petitioner appealed, "At that time and even now, no one, including the physical education university president, related officials, the professor in charge of the club, or the perpetrator's parents, has apologized," and asked, "Please help ensure that those responsible are held accountable so that absurd incidents in the sports world do not happen again."

As of 2:50 PM on the 21st, the petition has received over 100 preliminary consents and is under administrator review.

A story of a person in their 20s who became quadriplegic due to school violence at a physical education university.
Photo by Nate Pann capture

Meanwhile, on the next day, the 20th, a post with the same story was uploaded on the online community 'Nate Pann.'

In a post titled "I Became Quadriplegic Due to School Violence," the writer claimed, "My younger brother, who could barely swim properly, was forced by a senior at the physical education university to dive, and as a result of that accident, his cervical vertebra was broken, and he was diagnosed with permanent quadriplegia."

They continued, "The court judged that my brother, being an adult with the choice to refuse, bore no fault on the senior's part, but our family finds this ruling very hard to accept," and said, "If my younger brother, a freshman, had refused, rumors might have spread among the seniors, making it impossible for him to properly attend school."

They added, "My younger brother, who was healthy enough to enter a physical education university, was diagnosed with quadriplegia and a 95% loss of motor function, and his expected lifespan has been shortened," and questioned, "Is it really right that all this responsibility lies with my younger brother?"

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