A man in his 20s who stabbed a teacher after breaking into a school in Mangsang sentenced to 18 years in prison

Visited Former School Where Former Teacher Worked to Commit Crime
Court: "Crime Location and Method Were Dangerous, and Crime Nature Is Severe"

A man in his 20s who, driven by delusions that teachers had bullied him during his high school years, went to his alma mater and attacked a teacher with a weapon was sentenced to a heavy prison term. On the 23rd, the Criminal Division 11 of Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Choi Seok-jin) sentenced A (28) to 18 years in prison on charges of attempted murder. Additionally, he was ordered to wear an electronic location tracking device (electronic anklet) for 10 years. However, the court dismissed the prosecution's request for a 5-year probation order.

A man in his 20s, identified as A, who was arrested on charges of stabbing his former high school teacher in his 40s with a weapon (attempted murder), is attending a pre-trial detention hearing at the Daejeon District Court in Seo-gu, Daejeon, last August.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A was tried on charges of breaking into a high school in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon, around 10 a.m. on August 4 and stabbing teacher B (49) about 10 times in the face and side with a weapon in an attempt to kill him. At the time of the incident, A entered the school grounds through the main gate without any particular resistance, went up to the second-floor teachers' office to find B, and upon hearing that B was in class, waited in the hallway. Later, after the class ended, A spotted B washing his hands at the teachers' office sink and attacked him with the weapon. Immediately after the crime, A fled but was caught around 12:20 p.m. the same day near an apartment about 7 to 8 km away from the school where the incident occurred.

During police investigation, A said, "I am a psychopath. I graduated from the high school where the victim teacher worked, and I committed the crime because of bad memories from that time." A claimed that he was subjected to group bullying and sexual harassment by multiple teachers, including B, during his high school years, but the investigation revealed that these claims were not true.

The prosecution believes that A committed the planned crime under delusions caused by a mental illness. He had also visited the school on July 14, 20 days before the crime, but did not meet B and returned on the school reopening date. He even called the school to confirm whether it was the correct school where B worked.

A had been receiving outpatient treatment for depression and schizophrenia symptoms at a psychiatric clinic from 2021 until last year. Although doctors recommended hospitalization, A refused and reportedly stopped even medication treatment from December last year. Earlier, at the sentencing hearing held on the 26th of last month, the prosecution demanded a 20-year prison sentence, stating, "The defendant's mental illness only influenced the motive for the crime, but changing his phone number after the crime and applying for a passport days before show that it was a planned crime with a bad nature."

The court pointed out, "Although the defendant committed the crime due to delusions, a symptom of schizophrenia, considering the location, method, and motive of the crime, it is very dangerous and the nature of the crime is bad." It added, "The victim suffered serious injuries and has not yet recovered physical functions, requiring long-term rehabilitation, and has also suffered great psychological shock. Considering that the victim and family are requesting severe punishment and the method of the crime, a heavy sentence is inevitable. Also, despite knowing about the defendant's mental illness, the family failed to take proper measures, which raises concerns about recidivism," explaining the reasons for the sentencing.