Director's Daughter Strangles 6-Year-Old Child... Ulsan Daycare Parents' Plea

On the 25th, a national petition was posted requesting punishment for the childcare teacher and the director, claiming that child abuse occurred at a daycare center in Dong-gu, Ulsan. Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A national petition has been posted demanding punishment for the childcare teacher and director after child abuse occurred at a daycare center in Dong-gu, Ulsan.

On the 25th, a post titled "Terrible daycare abuse incident in Dong-gu, Ulsan, perpetrator is the director's daughter" was uploaded on the Blue House national petition board.

The petitioner, who identified himself as the father of the victim child, stated, "My child has been subjected to long-term abuse by the homeroom teacher at the daycare center, and I recently found out that the homeroom teacher is the director's daughter."

The petitioner explained the abuse circumstances, saying, "The childcare teacher forcibly fed the child 5 to 6 spoonfuls of rice at once during lunchtime because the child did not eat. Even when the child was gagging, the teacher stepped on both of the child's thighs and ankles and slammed the child's head against the desk corner until the child swallowed the food. The teacher also put fingers into the child's mouth to induce vomiting and strangled the child."

He continued, "If the child did not swallow the food in their mouth, the teacher would not allow the child to go to the bathroom. The child was chased out of the classroom and not allowed back in until finishing the meal, and was excluded from afternoon classes."

The petitioner added that there was testimony that when the teacher took the child to the hallway, sounds of hitting ("puk puk") could be heard.

He also wrote, "The child is smaller and weaker than peers and has been hospitalized multiple times due to respiratory illnesses, so the child had a small appetite and severe picky eating, causing stress around meals. During meetings, I repeatedly asked for meal arrangements to be made according to the child's wishes."

The petitioner said, "When I reported these abuse circumstances to the daycare center, the director first checked the CCTV and knelt down to apologize. However, the director tried not to show the CCTV footage."

He added, "After a struggle, when the CCTV was reviewed, it showed much more horrific and cruel abuse than the child had described." The abuse continued every day without exception from the 8th of last month to the 5th of this month, according to the CCTV footage.

In particular, the petitioner claimed that the teacher who repeatedly abused the child is the director's daughter. He said, "Until the CCTV review was completed, the director did not reveal that the perpetrator was her daughter and only kept repeating that she had asked her to resign."

According to the petitioner, additional abuse circumstances involving other children in the same class as his son were also confirmed.

He stated, "My child is currently showing extreme anxiety symptoms," and demanded punishment for the daycare center director, vice director, and the abusive teacher.

He also emphasized that children exposed to abuse should receive psychological treatment and that strict qualification requirements should be applied when obtaining childcare teacher certificates and during hiring.

As of 9 PM on the 26th, more than 14,400 people have agreed to the petition.

The Ulsan Dongbu Police Station is restoring the related CCTV footage to check for additional victims and is reviewing whether to apply charges under the Child Welfare Act against the childcare teacher and others involved.