Two Middle School Girls in Cheongju Who Committed 'Extreme Choice' Due to Abuse and Sexual Assault... Stepfather Arrested

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] The stepfather, who was identified as a suspect in the case where two female middle school students made an extreme choice at an apartment in Cheongju on the 12th, has been detained.

On the 25th, Shin Woo-jung, the warrant judge at Cheongju District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Mr. A, who is accused of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, and issued the warrant citing "concerns of flight and evidence destruction."

Mr. A is accused of sexually assaulting Ms. C, a friend of his stepdaughter, middle school student Ms. B. It is reported that Ms. C's parents reported the incident to the police in February.

During the investigation, the police also identified signs of abuse by Mr. A against Ms. B. The police applied twice to the prosecution for an arrest warrant for Mr. A to separate him from his stepdaughter Ms. B, but the prosecution reportedly rejected the applications, citing the need for additional evidence.

On the afternoon of the 12th, around 5:11 PM, while the investigation into Mr. A was ongoing, Ms. B and Ms. C were found collapsed in a flower bed at an apartment in Ochang-eup, Cheongju City. They were taken to the hospital but ultimately passed away. A note in the form of a will was found at the scene, but its contents have not been disclosed.

Following the news, on the 17th, civic groups including the Chungbuk Education Solidarity held a press conference at the main gate of the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office, criticizing, "Early separation of perpetrators and victims is fundamental in sexual violence and child abuse cases, but investigative agencies were complacent," and called the incident a "social murder." They further demanded, "The prosecution, which rejected the police's arrest warrant, should apologize and detain the stepfather suspect for strict punishment."

The police conducted supplementary investigations and re-applied for an arrest warrant to the prosecution on the 20th, and the prosecution filed the warrant with the court on the same day.

A petition appealing for severe punishment of the stepfather. Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

On the 17th, a post titled "Please conduct a strict investigation and punishment of the stepfather who caused two middle school students to commit suicide" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner stated, "Although the students bravely reported the victimization, despite the police applying for an arrest warrant against the stepfather twice, both were dismissed for supplementary investigation."

They continued, "Seeing that the students' numerous testimonies did not even lead to proper detention, it breaks my heart to think about how much helplessness and fear the children must have felt," and appealed, "Please pay much attention so that the deaths of these students are not in vain, and punish the perpetrator severely to prevent such heartbreaking incidents from happening again."

As of 8 PM on the 25th, this petition has received over 100,000 endorsements.

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