[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] DJ Juice, a composer affiliated with Brand New Music, has called for the dismissal of a daycare center director who allegedly tried to cover up child abuse suffered by his second son at the daycare.
On the 7th, DJ Juice posted a lengthy message on his Instagram, stating, "Our family has been struck by pain."
He said, "My second child has developmental delays, so he cannot speak and has difficulty communicating, but he was abused at the daycare. Afterwards, the daycare director said, 'Why did you report this without consulting the daycare?' The case is under investigation, but after enduring it for a while, I am now posting this petition."
He added, "I ask for your participation in the petition. I humbly ask all my acquaintances and everyone raising children to support this," and shared the Blue House National Petition link.
DJ Juice posted a petition titled "My Child Has Been Abused" on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 8th. Photo by Blue House National Petition Capture
In the petition, he explained, "Our second child has not been officially classified with a disability, but he is not a typical child. He can only say words like 'mom' and 'dad,' and his development is delayed compared to peers. After tests at several hospitals, he was diagnosed with language and cognitive delays and attends a municipal daycare center in OO-dong that has an integrated class for children with disabilities."
He continued, "A few months ago, we learned through an anonymous tip that our second child had been abused. Because he is usually very active, he often had bruises here and there, and we mostly dismissed them thinking it was normal for a boy. However, sometimes more serious bruises were found while attending the daycare."
He said, "I occasionally asked the daycare director if I could check the closed-circuit television (CCTV), but was told, 'You can only check if there is a child abuse report.' A few days later, I was told, 'We reviewed the CCTV and found nothing unusual. Please understand that we took time to check despite being busy.'"
However, "About a week later, the child protection agency contacted us, saying they had received an anonymous report of abuse concerning our child. Agency officials, police, and city hall staff visited the daycare, reviewed the CCTV, and detected several signs of child abuse," he explained.
He added, "What was even more shocking was that the police investigation revealed the director knew about the abuse but tried to cover it up. The direct abuser was immediately dismissed, but the director is still working at the daycare, managing over 100 children, including ours, under such incompetent and irresponsible leadership," he criticized.
He emphasized, "Punishment must be carried out as soon as possible to prevent such people from becoming daycare directors or teachers. Even if those involved are punished and the case is closed, the scars on my wife and me will not heal, but we request the director’s dismissal before more victims emerge."
As of 6:50 a.m. on the 9th, 6,078 people had agreed to the petition.
Meanwhile, the police have sent former childcare teacher A, who is accused of abusing DJ Juice’s son, to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.
The daycare director is also reportedly subject to administrative sanctions and has been reported to relevant authorities.
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