"Over 100 Instances of Physical Abuse"... Yangju Daycare Center Director and Teacher Sent to Prosecution

Teachers accused of abusing four children over several months at a daycare center in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, have been sent to the prosecution. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han-ah Na] Teachers and directors who were charged with abusing four children over several months at a daycare center in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, have been handed over to the prosecution.

According to the police, on the 5th, they announced that three people, including two daycare center directors and one teacher in the Yangju area, were booked on charges of abuse under the Child Welfare Act and other offenses, and the case was sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment without detention.

Teacher A, who works at a daycare center in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, is accused of abusing four children under the age of six at the daycare center where she worked about 20 times from September to November last year.

The police confirmed the abuse after analyzing three months' worth of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the daycare center following a report from the parents of the victims.

According to an MBN report, the CCTV footage clearly showed abusive behavior, such as pressing the eyes of a child who was not sleeping with a hand, or kicking the head of a child lying down while passing by. One child was subjected to over 100 instances of physical abuse by the teacher.

Police investigations revealed that the abuse of the children involved pushing or hitting them.

The police explained, "A acknowledged most of the abuse," and judged that two daycare center directors were also aware of the abuse, so they were also sent to the prosecution together.

Yangju City has suspended the teacher’s qualifications under the Infant and Child Care Act and plans to take action against the two directors once the prosecution's disposition results are received.

Meanwhile, the parents of the victims claim that one of the offending directors operates another daycare center adjacent to the daycare center in question.

Earlier, in February, an incident occurred at Director B’s daycare center where a teacher neglected ongoing bullying among children.