Simultaneous Jump by Male and Female Middle School Students on the 31st of Last Month
Girl A Leaves a 9-Page Will Exposing School Violence Situation
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Among the two middle school students who died by falling together in an apartment in Jindo, Jeollanam-do, it has been reported that one of them suffered from bullying and verbal abuse by classmates.
On the 2nd, the Jeonnam Office of Education and Jindo Police announced that female middle school student A, one of the two students who made a tragic choice at an apartment in Jindo-gun on the 31st of last month, had been subjected to school violence by classmates.
Previously, A had reported school violence, stating that "on April 2nd during lunchtime in the gymnasium, I had an argument with six classmates, during which I was verbally abused and ostracized."
The Jindo Office of Education judged that only verbal abuse had occurred and attempted reconciliation. However, some classmates claimed, "We were just in the same place but are being unfairly labeled as perpetrators," leading to the formal convening of the School Violence Deliberation Committee on May 24th.
Through the committee, the Jindo Office of Education issued disciplinary measures 1 to 3, which apply to minor or mutual violence, to six offending students and A. Three offending students and A received written apologies (Type 1) and school community service (Type 3), while the other three offending students received written apologies (Type 1).
It was reported that A's statement, "I will report this as school violence to get a red mark on the school record," was recognized as inappropriate.
The bereaved family claimed that during this process, no separation measures were taken between A and the offending students, and that A suffered from "retaliatory school violence."
A's nine-page suicide note reportedly contained details of the verbal abuse and school violence incidents inflicted by the offending students from June 1st to the 9th of last month.
The Office of Education plans to investigate whether additional school violence occurred after April, separate from the police investigation.
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of the 31st of last month, a report was received from residents that two teenagers, a male and a female, were found collapsed in an apartment in Jindo-eup, Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do. Both were students attending the same middle school and were transported to a nearby hospital by the 119 emergency medical team that arrived at the scene, but both ultimately passed away.
The police, based on analysis of nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) and witness statements, estimated that the two fell together and died from the impact of the fall.
※ If you or someone around you is experiencing difficult feelings such as depression or other hard-to-talk-about concerns, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling through suicide prevention hotlines ☎1577-0199, Hope Phone ☎129, Lifeline ☎1588-9191, and Youth Phone ☎1388.
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