Parent of Howoncho Elementary, who claimed not to demand treatment fees from Nonghyup XXX-XXX, received more money

A parent, known to have given 4 million won to the late teacher Lee Young-seung in the so-called 'PET bottle incident,' denied ever demanding money, but circumstances have emerged indicating that more than 4 million won was received.

According to the police and MBC on the 29th, besides transferring 4 million won over eight months at 500,000 won per month to parent A involved in the 'PET bottle incident,' it is reported that the teacher also paid an additional 1 million won. In text messages revealed through media reports, A sent two photos to the teacher on the day of his son's left-hand surgery along with the message, "He had the first surgery today. It's really tough. Please contact me if you see this message."

Parent A persistently filed malicious complaints after his son injured his hand while cutting a PET bottle with a cutter during class. Upon receiving A's message on the day of the surgery, the teacher repeatedly apologized four times and said, "Could I have your bank account number? I want to help by sending 500,000 won each month for ten months."

The next day, A expressed gratitude and provided a NongHyup bank account number. Later, A said, "Sorry for the late thanks. Thank you for transferring the treatment fee," and informed about future treatment plans, stating, "Laser treatment will start in April." Accordingly, it is presumed that the teacher first sent 1 million won in March for the first plastic surgery treatment fee and then transferred 4 million won over eight months.

Moreover, even after receiving the promised 5 million won from the teacher, A sent a message saying, "I plan to have a second surgery. Please call me when you have time," and then had a 7 minutes and 27 seconds phone call with the teacher. Lee Jung-min, the legal representative of the teacher’s bereaved family, explained A's actions, stating, "Even if there is no direct expression like 'Give me money,' if the party feels threatened to the extent that they perform an unnecessary act, it is considered coercion."

The teacher had to endure harassment from A until the end of 2019 due to the PET bottle incident that occurred in 2016.

Photo by MBC Broadcast Screen Capture

After this incident came to light, A’s name and workplace details were leaked. Especially after it was revealed that A was a deputy branch manager at a regional bank in Seoul, protest posts flooded the bank’s website bulletin board. The bank placed A on standby and suspended him from duty as of the 19th. However, account closures and deposit withdrawals continue at the bank, prompting the bank to closely monitor the situation and consider referring the case to the personnel committee.

Personal information of university student B, believed to be A’s child, was shared on social media and online communities, and protest posters appeared in front of B’s school. The posters contained messages such as "Don’t tarnish the school’s reputation, just drop out," and "The child of a villain attends here; we hope that student withdraws."