"Brain Death from 'Meongseokmari' at Gumi City Special School... Truth-Seeking 'Cheong National Petition' Emerges"

January 26 National Petition ... 2,278 Participants as of 9 AM on the 15th
Victimized Father Files Complaint Against Homeroom Teacher ... 'Homeroom Teacher's Confession of Cover-Up'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] A Blue House national petition demanding truth verification and fundamental measures has been posted regarding the brain death incident of a student that occurred at a school for disabled children in Gumi City, Gyeongbuk.

As of 9:20 a.m. on the 15th, 2,278 people had participated in the national petition titled "Cardiac arrest (brain death) due to abuse, torture, and assault of a disabled child."

The petitioner stated on the Blue House national petition board on the 16th of last month, "A boy with intellectual disability, A, has been in an unconscious state since being hospitalized in cardiac arrest at a school for disabled children in Gumi on November 18 last year," and claimed, "The wounds remaining on A’s body cannot be explained except as acts of abuse."

He continued, "There are clear marks on A’s legs where he was tightly tied with a rope, causing skin to peel off, three broken wounds about 5 cm on the back of his head, bruising on his left ear, and a 5 cm blister on the right knee," presenting photographic evidence.

He criticized, "The victim’s parents are heartbroken, but the school only repeats the explanation that 'he fell while putting on shoes at dismissal time and showed symptoms of respiratory distress, so he was taken to the hospital.'"

He emphasized, "A’s twin brother, B, testified to the police and the Gyeongbuk Disability Rights Advocacy Agency that on the day of the accident, he saw his brother being subjected to meongseokmari (rolling up in a gym mat, a slang term used only by A’s classmates) twice at school."

He also presented evidence that "the homeroom teacher confessed during a phone call with A’s mother that 'meongseokmari is done occasionally,' and in phone conversations between A’s brother and A’s classmates, there are mentions of 'sometimes doing doldolmari' and 'did doldolmari but he wasn’t breathing.'"

The petitioner also introduced a post by the victim’s father.

A’s father said, "Regarding the situation on the day of the accident, my son’s twin testified that in the morning, A was lying face down and being rolled up in a mat, with a classmate sitting on top of him," and questioned, "The doctor judged that cardiac arrest lasted more than 35 minutes. Isn’t assaulting a disabled child, rolling him up, and instructing other disabled children to sit on him a crime?"

Earlier, in November last year, A’s father filed a complaint with the Gumi Police Station accusing a teacher of corporal punishment by meongseokmari that led to a coma. The Gumi Office of Education held a school violence review committee on December 23 last year regarding this matter but has not released results even after more than 40 days.