Court Sentences Two Teenagers to Prison for Bizarre Assault at Cheonghakdong Seodang

The entrance of a Seodang in Cheonghak-dong, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam, where a student assault incident occurred.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Teenagers who committed bizarre assaults on their peers at a Seodang in Cheonghak-dong were sentenced to imprisonment on the 8th.

On this day, the Criminal Division 1 of Jinju Branch, Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Seong-ho) ordered the detention of A (17) and B (16), who were indicted on charges of bizarrely assaulting their peers (violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse), and transferred the case to the juvenile division of Changwon District Court.

The court stated, "The crimes committed by A and his group are very serious, and there has been no settlement with the victim who suffered physical and psychological injuries," adding, "They are detained for the purpose of victim recovery and rehabilitation."

However, the court also considered that A and his group grew up in unfortunate circumstances such as family estrangement from an early age, their young age, and lack of prior criminal records.

When the court asked A and others if they had anything to say, they remained silent.

At the first trial held last May, the prosecution requested sentences ranging from 5 years to 7 years for A, and from 5 years to 6 years for B.

Article 60(1) of the Juvenile Act (Indeterminate Sentence) states, "If a juvenile commits a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than 2 years, an indeterminate sentence with a minimum and maximum term shall be imposed. However, the maximum term shall not exceed 10 years, and the minimum term shall not exceed 5 years."

Paragraph 4 of the same article stipulates, "The head of the institution executing the indeterminate sentence for juveniles may, upon the prosecutor's directive, terminate the execution of the sentence if the juvenile's behavior after the minimum term has passed is good and the purpose of correction has been achieved."

According to the prosecution's charges, since February last year, the two repeatedly assaulted and subjected C (17) to cruel acts at a male dormitory of a Seodang in Cheonghak-dong, Hadong-gun, including inserting foreign objects into C’s anus and forcing him to ingest and be sprayed with bodily fluids and urine.

At the first trial, A and B admitted all the charges and expressed remorse and repentance.

However, the victim C, who appeared in court at that time, refuted their claims, stating that the defendants showed no remorse at all.

C also revealed that after the incident became known, A’s father called C’s father to argue, saying, "How are these children supposed to live from now on?" and that contact ceased about two weeks later.

Since both A and B admitted the charges, sentencing was immediately requested, and the sentencing date was set for this day.

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