Dissatisfied with School Violence Committee Decision... 50-Year-Old Attempts Arson at Education Office with Family

Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison... Wife and Daughter Given Suspended Prison Terms
Two Minor Sons Referred to Juvenile Court

A man in his 50s who, dissatisfied with the investigation results of the Office of Education's School Violence Committee, attempted arson at the education office building with his entire family and even sprayed gasoline on the police officers who arrived at the scene was sentenced to imprisonment.

On the 22nd, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-jin) sentenced Mr. A (58), who was indicted on charges of special intimidation and attempted arson of a public building, to two years in prison. His wife (48) and daughter (20), who were also indicted, were sentenced to one year and six months in prison with a two-year probation, while their minor eldest son (18) and youngest son (17) were referred to the juvenile court.

If referred to the juvenile court, they will receive protective measures ranging from 1 to 10, including custody placement, community service orders, probation, or transfer to a juvenile detention center, and no criminal record will remain.

Mr. A was brought to trial for allegedly attempting to set fire to the Gangwon Chuncheon Office of Education building on June 16 at around 5:40 p.m. with his wife and four children, carrying 1.5 liters of gasoline and seven lighters. They are also charged with obstructing official duties by spraying gasoline on five police officers who tried to stop them.

Earlier, on April 19, Mr. A’s family reported a teacher at a local high school’s student life education office for school violence, claiming that the youngest son was subjected to violence by a guidance teacher. In response, the Chuncheon Office of Education separated the two parties and held a school violence committee meeting on June 13. After reviewing whether the teacher’s actions constituted school violence, the committee concluded that it was not a school violence case due to "insufficient evidence." At the time, the Chuncheon Office of Education stated, "Based on witness statements from students and teachers and reports, there was not enough evidence to prove that the teacher hit the student."

The Chuncheon Office of Education notified Mr. A’s family of the committee’s decision the next day and explained the appeal procedures, but Mr. A and his family rejected this and made a protest call threatening self-immolation, followed by an attempted arson at the education office building. During the incident, some family members doused their clothes with gasoline and acted as if they were going to self-immolate, leading to a standoff with the police, but it did not result in actual self-immolation.

At the final hearing, Mr. A said, "As the head of a family, I deeply regret losing my composure and causing trouble in front of my children," and pleaded for leniency, adding, "I should have resolved this wisely and peacefully through dialogue until the end and set a good example, but I failed to do so and feel ashamed." The prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence for Mr. A.

The court stated, "Considering the motive, extent of damage, and danger of the crime, the guilt is very serious," and pointed out, "Such crimes not only undermine legitimate official duties and harm national functions but also put public officials executing lawful duties at great risk and cause injury, making this highly condemnable."

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