"Nine Girls Assaulted a Middle School Student for 17 Hours Out of 'Bad Mood'... Teenage Violence Becoming More Brutal"

Alumni Assaulted Female Middle School Students... Burned with Cigarette Butts, Forced to Eat Cooking Oil and Vinegar
School Violence Severity Increased Over 5 Years... Sharp Rise in Severe Punishment for Perpetrators
7 out of 10 Seoul Citizens Say "School Violence Among Youth Is Serious"

Last Christmas, nine students and adults were arrested by the police for gang assaulting a middle school girl for 17 hours in a one-room apartment. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A scandal has erupted after it was revealed that a female middle school student in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, was subjected to a prolonged group assault lasting about 17 hours on Christmas last year. The perpetrators were confirmed to have committed cruel acts such as forcing the victim to eat cooking oil and filth during the crime, sparking public outrage.

Recently, the methods and brutality of juvenile crimes have often been as severe as those of adult crimes, becoming a social issue. In particular, school violence can leave victims with lifelong trauma, highlighting the urgent need for related countermeasures.

It was recently revealed that teenagers and young adults in their teens to twenties, who were current and former students of a middle school in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, collectively assaulted a female middle school student.

The Gyeongnam Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit announced on the 20th that three people in their twenties were sent to the prosecution with a request for detention on charges including joint injury, while six teenagers were sent without detention. They are accused of assaulting and subjecting middle school student A to cruel acts from noon on December 25 last year until 5 a.m. the following day while they were together.

The perpetrators gathered at a one-room studio apartment in Gimhae the day before the incident and drank alcohol. During this time, they claimed that A said something unpleasant, and after conspiring to assault her, they took turns hitting A with their hands and blunt objects. In particular, they cruelly tormented her by forcibly feeding her vinegar, cooking oil, and filth, and burning her face with cigarette butts. Some also forcibly removed A’s top, causing her humiliation.

The perpetrators are also accused of forcing A to hold a weapon and threatening her to fabricate a self-defense scenario, filming the act on a mobile phone. It is currently known that the video has not been leaked externally.

The number of victims suffering from school violence is increasing. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

Victims of school violence continue to suffer. Over the past five years, the number of cases reviewed by the School Violence Countermeasure Committee (Hakpokwi) were ▲23,673 in 2016 ▲31,240 in 2017 ▲32,632 in 2018 ▲31,130 in 2019 ▲8,357 in 2020, totaling 127,032 cases. The sharp decrease in 2020 was influenced by the expansion of remote classes due to COVID-19.

The proportion of severe disciplinary actions such as expulsion, transfer, class change, and suspension against offending students compared to the number of cases reviewed by Hakpokwi steadily increased each year: ▲26.4% in 2016 ▲25.0% in 2017 ▲26.0% in 2018 ▲27.9% in 2019 ▲37.1% in 2020.

Among these, some juveniles have been found to commit crimes with brutality comparable to adult crimes. In June last year, five teenage boys and girls were indicted for taking a female high school student B (16), who has an intellectual disability, to a motel and assaulting her while pouring filth on her. At a motel in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, they reportedly slammed B’s head, who has a level 3 intellectual disability, into a toilet, spat on her, and poured ashtrays containing cigarette butts, drinks, and shampoo on her body.

As the brutality of teenagers crosses the line, calls for strict punishment are growing. Office worker Kang (25) said, "Because punishments for juveniles are weak, these crimes seem to repeat. Punishment should not be based on age but on how brutal the crime is. Strong punishment is necessary to prevent recidivism."

University student Min (25) said, "There should be no leniency just because they are teenagers. The law being lenient on minors is a problem. Victims of school violence carry trauma into adulthood. They must be severely punished."

In this regard, a majority of citizens also perceive school violence among youths as a serious problem. A survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee on 1,000 Seoul citizens found that 7 out of 10 (69.3%) responded that 'school violence among youths' is a serious issue, and that the police should actively intervene in assault (90.9%), extortion (83.8%), and cyber violence (72.0%).

Unlike general violence, school violence is more likely to be prolonged. Due to the nature of schools, victims may feel even more isolated because of numerous bystanders in the classroom, and the trauma can leave lifelong scars, making it difficult for victims to lead normal social lives even as adults.

Given this situation, voices within the political sphere are calling for strict punishment of juvenile crimes. On the 9th, Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, announced plans to lower the age of 'criminal responsibility for minors' from 14 to 12 years old and to introduce a 'restorative justice' program for juvenile crimes.

He stated, "Now, the physical and mental development of youths is not much different from adults, and the methods and brutality of crimes are often comparable to those of adults, making it necessary for the nation and society to respond." He added, "I will lower the juvenile age under the Juvenile Act from under 19 to under 18."