Taekwondo Instructor in '5-Year-Old Child Abuse Death' Case... Additional Charges for Habitual Abuse

First Trial Sentencing Postponed and Proceedings Resume

The first trial sentencing for the director accused of abusing and causing the death of a 5-year-old child at a Taekwondo academy has been postponed, and the trial has resumed.

According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 23rd, the Criminal Division 11 of Uijeongbu District Court (Chief Judge Oh Chang-seop) postponed the first trial sentencing for a man in his 30s, Mr. A, who was indicted in custody on charges of child abuse resulting in death, and merged the cases to resume arguments. This followed the prosecution's indictment of Mr. A for additional child abuse offenses.

The Uijeongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi is transferring Taekwondo instructor Mr. A, who was arrested on charges of causing a 5-year-old child, a member of the gym, to fall into cardiac arrest and unconsciousness, to the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office. Yonhap News

The prosecution explained the additional charges, stating, "From May to July 2024, at the Taekwondo academy, the defendant physically and emotionally abused 26 child victims a total of 124 times, including pinching and hitting their cheeks."

The defense stated that they do not wish for a jury trial regarding the merged cases and argued, "While basically admitting to the abuse charges, there are slight factual inaccuracies."

The court issued an additional arrest warrant on the same day for habitual child abuse. The detention period for Mr. A, which was until February 6, will be extended by six months.

The court decided to conduct defendant questioning and evidence examination regarding the additional case at the next continuation trial.

The next trial is scheduled for March 6.

Previously, Mr. A was indicted in custody on charges of causing the death of a trainee, Mr. B, by placing him upside down in a mat (height 124 cm, hole diameter approximately 18?23 cm) and leaving him there for 27 minutes at a Taekwondo academy in Deokgye-dong, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi Province, on July 12 last year.

The prosecution believes that after Mr. B was found in a coma, Mr. A did not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and instead deleted the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to conceal the crime. At the sentencing hearing on December 19 last year, the prosecution requested a life sentence for Mr. A along with a 10-year ban on employment at child-related institutions.

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