청, Response to National Petition on School Violence Death: "Taking It Very Seriously"

Special Audit Conducted on Incidents in Gangwon Region...Teacher Disciplinary Actions and Institutional Warnings for Education Support Offices
Two Perpetrators Arrested in Gwangju Incident...Special Audit Ongoing at the Relevant School

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House responded to a national petition regarding the death of a student victim of school violence, stating that the government is taking the incident very seriously and provided the results of actions taken against the perpetrator students, as well as the teachers and the school involved.

On the 6th, the Blue House explained, "The two petitions concerning school violence incidents recently occurring in the Gangwon and Gwangju regions call for thorough investigation, fact-finding, and severe punishment of the perpetrators regarding their children's school violence victimization," adding, "Approximately 360,000 and 210,000 citizens respectively agreed to these petitions." Previously, in Gangwon and Gwangju, incidents occurred where students who were victims of school violence made extreme choices.

Jung Jong-cheol, Vice Minister of Education, stated in response to the national petition, "We express deep condolences to the two students who could not even fully bloom the flowers of their lives. We apologize and offer words of comfort to the remaining family members for not preventing the situation earlier," and added, "The government is taking this incident very seriously."

The view of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Gangwon Provincial Office of Education conducted a special audit targeting the school and the education support office. Vice Minister Jung said, "We confirmed some facts of inappropriate responses to school violence and negligence in student guidance, and depending on the severity of the misconduct, we notified that the principal and four related teachers will be subject to 'severe and light disciplinary actions.'"

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education conducted a joint investigation with the Gwangsan Police Station. The school decided on disciplinary measures for the perpetrator students: expulsion for 2 students, transfer for 2 students, suspension of attendance for 1 student, community service for 1 student, and in-school service for 4 students. The police referred 10 perpetrator students to the prosecution and detained 2 students whose perpetration was clear.

Additionally, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education confirmed some facts such as insufficient early detection of school violence and failure to report and receive school violence cases at the school, and is conducting a 'special audit.'

Vice Minister Jung said, "We plan to establish an ‘Online Early Detection System for School Violence’ so that students can easily report and consult about school violence," and added, "We will appoint additional school police officers and expand support for the healing of victim students."

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