Father of Archery Club School Violence Victim: "Association Wants to Bury It, Saying It's an Archery Festival Atmosphere"

Repeated Assault and Urination
Agreement Signed with Perpetrators Despite Opposition from Leaders and Parents

Not related to the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Regarding the incident at an archery club in a middle school in Yecheon, Gyeongbuk, where a senior student shot an arrow at a junior, the victim claims that the perpetrator had been habitually assaulting others, but the Gyeongbuk Archery Association and the coaches turned a blind eye.

Earlier, around 10 a.m. on the 4th, at a middle school in Yecheon, a third-year archery club student pulled the bowstring from about 3 meters away, shooting through the junior student's clothes and injuring their back, drawing criticism from netizens.

The victim's father, Mr. A, appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on the morning of the 23rd and said, "The perpetrator has been practicing archery with my son since elementary school. He also extorted money from other friends in the same grade and bullied and hit kids. This escalated to shooting arrows now."

Mr. A said he discovered the wound late after noticing a hole in his son's clothes on the day of the incident. He explained, "My wife saw the hole in the clothes and asked, 'What is this?' When she looked inside, the wound was very clear. I asked my son, but he didn't say anything. As his father, I raised my voice a bit, and only then did he talk about it."

It is known that the perpetrator committed this act while the coach was away. Mr. A said, "The coach went to the hospital in the morning, and the students practiced among themselves for three hours. During that time, this happened."

According to Mr. A, there were reportedly 6 to 7 other victims besides his son. He said, "If bored, he would poke or hit with fists; that was common. He slapped ears, kicked, performed flying kicks, urinated on a friend who was showering in the dorm room during a competition, and committed unspeakable acts (sexual acts)," he reported.

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In response to the host's question, "Has this not been publicized until now?" Mr. A claimed, "The person called the president of the Gyeongbuk Archery Association said, 'This is a festive atmosphere; we shouldn't spoil the mood,' and just wanted to let it go."

He added, "My son still has to continue archery, and since this field is small, we couldn't avoid thinking about a settlement. We were willing to accept everything if he apologized and they just separated us. We even gave our seal to my wife and entrusted it to the coach. But on the morning of the settlement day, the perpetrator said, 'My father has taken care of it,' and strange rumors spread, so my wife canceled the settlement. She told the coach, 'We won't settle.' Still, the coach stamped the settlement document and gave it to the perpetrator the next day, who then submitted it to the police," he raised his voice.

Regarding the victim's current condition, Mr. A said, "The wound is only about 1 cm away from the spine. The arrow pierced through the clothes," and added, "There are claims it was a practice arrow, but it was shot with the bow used in competitions."

He continued, "The wound is healing over time, but the mental pain is still evident as the child cannot sleep. He wakes up screaming in his sleep, so we are looking into counseling and therapy," he added.

He said, "A student who quit archery years ago due to victimization was thought by the school to have quit because of poor grades. The school was not informed," and added, "Parents came asking to prevent recurrence, but the coach said, 'I can't do that,' he said. Also, the archery association has taken no action."

Mr. A appealed, "It is truly regrettable that young talents are learning archery under such coaches. School violence must be eradicated so that such incidents never happen again."