'Child Abuse Confirmation' Gumi Daycare Center, Whose Parents Filed Complaints... Director and Teachers Eventually Referred to Prosecution

A Two-Year-Old Locked in a Darkened Bathroom at a Daycare Operated by a Large Corporation's Welfare Foundation

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] A childcare teacher at a daycare center operated by a welfare foundation of a large corporation in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, is under investigation on charges of abusing several children, including locking a 2-year-old child in a darkened bathroom.

Previously, the daycare center reportedly filed a complaint against parents who came to check CCTV footage on charges of obstructing business, but after the prosecution dismissed the case, they even appealed, sparking public outrage against the operators.

According to the Gumi Police Station on the 28th, two former childcare teachers and a former director of the daycare center were each sent to the prosecution on charges of violating the "Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes" and the "Child Welfare Act."

The teachers are accused of locking a 2-year-old child in a darkened bathroom for 7 minutes as a form of discipline and physically and emotionally abusing 5 to 6 children about 40 times by suppressing them in classroom corners at the daycare center from November to December 2019.

This case came to light in January last year when parents filed a complaint with the police. The signs of child abuse were clearly captured on CCTV footage, and when the incident surfaced, the director and teachers submitted their resignations.

The director is accused of neglecting the duty of care and supervision regarding child abuse. Under the Child Welfare Act, if a daycare center director’s staff abuse children, the director can be punished under the joint penalty provision for failing to properly fulfill the duty of care and supervision.

A mother of a victim child expressed her anger, saying, "My child refuses to use the bathroom at home and has started showing symptoms of tic disorder and stuttering," and added, "At the daycare center, parents who came to view the CCTV footage were instead accused of obstructing business and treated as perpetrators."

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