Child Abuse Reported Over 1,100 Times... Gumi Daycare Teachers and Others Referred to Prosecution

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju Cheol-in] In Gumi, Gyeongbuk, daycare teachers and directors who abused seven children over 1,100 times have been collectively referred to the prosecution.

On the 21st, the Gumi Police Station announced that they recently sent 10 people, including daycare teacher A (40) from a daycare center in Okgyedong, Gumi, and the director subject to joint liability provisions, to the prosecution without detention (with a recommendation for indictment) on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act.

The police began investigating after receiving a complaint from the victim children in January 2019. Over the course of two years and five months, they completed the investigation by reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the daycare center and conducting interviews with both the complainants and the accused.

During the investigation period, the number of victim children increased from four to seven, and the number of abuse cases rose from about 40 to over 1,100.

The police reportedly confirmed that a significant portion of the victim's claims were true, including that "between April and September 2018, the daycare teacher pulled a child's arm, causing them to fall to the floor, and pushed the child's chest with their arm or foot, making them fall backward," and "the teacher hit a child's head with a confiscated toy and poked the abdomen of a two-year-old child with their finger."

The daycare teachers are known to have either admitted or denied the allegations depending on the specific case.

At the time of the complaint, videos recorded by parents on their mobile phones of the daycare center's CCTV showed scenes where a daycare teacher hit a girl's face for not eating lunch and inserted fingers into the child's mouth more than ten times, rubbing the child's wound with saliva that dripped down.

A Gumi Police Station official explained, "By analyzing the daycare center's CCTV footage together with experts from the Child Protection Agency, we identified over 1,000 instances of abuse," adding, "Compared to physical abuse, which has relatively clear criminal charges, emotional abuse cases took longer due to conflicting precedents and the need to reconcile differences with experts."