[2023 National Audit] "3rd Grade Senior Assaults 2nd Grader Causing 9 Weeks Recovery... Allegations of School Violence Involving Kim Seung-hee's Protocol Secretary Child"

Allegations Exposed at Education Committee Hearing
"School's Passive Response, No Apology"
Presidential Office Immediately Excludes from Overseas Trip

There have been allegations that the third-grade daughter of Kim Seung-hee, the Protocol Secretary at the Presidential Office, assaulted a junior female student, causing injury. In response, the Presidential Office decided to exclude Secretary Kim from the overseas trip and initiate a fact-finding investigation.

On the 20th, Kim Young-ho, a member of the opposition and the Education Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed during the National Assembly Education Committee audit that "about three months ago, Secretary Kim's daughter took a second-grade female student to the bathroom, made her sit on the toilet, and then struck her head and face about ten times with a recorder and fists, causing injuries requiring nine weeks of medical treatment."

Rep. Kim stated, "I would like to address the issue of school violence in elementary schools. I am disclosing this information during the audit with the hope that this case will not become a power-related school violence cover-up like the cases involving lawyer Jeong Soon-shin and Broadcasting and Communications Commission Chairman Lee Dong-gwan's children."

He continued, "Fortunately, the school principal took emergency measures immediately after the incident, resulting in the suspension of the offending student's attendance. However, the problem is that the school violence committee hearing was held more than two months after the incident occurred," adding, "The victim's parents viewed the lack of transfer measures as concealment, minimization, and non-response to the school violence and requested strong action, but their concerns became reality."

Rep. Kim pointed out that the offending student was subjected to a class transfer rather than a forced transfer, and although he requested the mailing recipient information of the offender's parents, the school has not cooperated. He said, "Even three months after the incident, no apology has been made, and the school's passive response is very disappointing. Ultimately, both the school and the education office ignored the victim's appeals."

He also said, "Looking at the school violence committee's deliberation results, there are parts that are hard to understand. Forced transfer is applied from a total score of 16 points, but the offender received 15 points, just one point short, thus avoiding forced transfer," and added, "Some people suspect that the committee members adjusted the scores because they were reluctant to impose forced transfer."

Kim Young-ho, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Dong-joo Yoon doso7@

He emphasized that Secretary Kim's wife’s KakaoTalk profile revealed that the parents are high-ranking government officials. Rep. Kim said, "Secretary Kim joined Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign during the last election due to his connection with First Lady Kim Geon-hee through a graduate school advanced course and rose to the position of Protocol Secretary. He is known as a behind-the-scenes power figure for Mrs. Kim. Posting photos of her husband and the president together on KakaoTalk allowed parents and teachers exchanging messages to easily guess who the child's parents were."

Rep. Kim added, "The timing of the profile update seems intentional. The main profile picture was changed on July 19, the same day the school principal issued an emergency attendance suspension to the offending student."

He further stated, "As the parent of the offender, Secretary Kim should offer a sincere apology to the victim and their family and take responsibility as a public official. It has been three months since the incident, yet no apology has been made to the victim, which is not the attitude expected of a public figure."

In response, Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, said, "While prioritizing the protection of the victim student, since the offender is in the lower grades of elementary school, there is an educational responsibility to resolve the issue as much as possible through educational means. We will fully consider this and ensure that the matter is handled strictly and educationally properly, and the education office will oversee this."

Meanwhile, following these allegations, the Presidential Office has launched an investigation into Secretary Kim's public service discipline. Spokesperson Lee Do-woon briefed that Secretary Kim was excluded from President Yoon Seok-yeol’s delegation to Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the overseas trip to facilitate the investigation.