'Howoncho Teacher Death' Parent Investigation Completed... Claims "No Financial Coercion"

Police summon 3 related parents for questioning
Parent who received 4 million won says "Teacher contacted first"

The police investigating the death of the late teacher Lee Young-seung at Howon Elementary School in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, have completed summons investigations of three parents who were accused. The parents testified that they only contacted the teacher to discuss their children's treatment or absence issues and that there was no coercion or threats.

According to the police on the 11th, regarding the case in which the bereaved family of the deceased teacher Lee filed a complaint against three parents on charges of coercion, the police summoned and investigated parent A on the 9th.

Parent A is the parent of a sixth-grade student for whom Lee served as homeroom teacher in his first year of appointment in 2016. Despite receiving compensation twice from the Gyeonggi-do School Safety Mutual Aid Association for treatment costs related to an incident where A’s son injured the back of his hand while cutting a PET bottle with a cutter during class, it is known that A continued to contact Lee even after Lee enlisted in the military and received 4 million won over eight months.

Wreaths commemorating a deceased teacher are lined up in front of Howon Elementary School in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, last August.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding the reason for continuing to contact Lee even after his enlistment, A testified, "After my child was injured during class, (Lee Young-seung) incorrectly explained the compensation procedure from the Teachers’ Mutual Aid Association, and perhaps feeling sorry about that, Lee proactively contacted me first," adding, "There was no threat or coercion." He also reportedly said that the reason for receiving the money was "because Lee gave the treatment costs out of moral obligation."

Two other parents also testified that they only contacted the teacher regarding absence issues due to COVID-19 and that there was no harassment, threats, or coercion.

The police are conducting forensic analysis on A’s mobile phone, which was submitted, as the testimonies of the parents and the complainant family differ. If any abnormalities are found in the forensic results, A will be summoned for further investigation. Additionally, the police plan to summon and investigate a total of five people, including the principal and vice principal of Howon Elementary School and education administrative officials, who were accused of dereliction of duty.

Earlier, the police secured four mobile phones used by Lee during his lifetime and conducted forensic work. So far, no evidence or circumstances suggesting coercion or threats by the parents have been found.

Lee Young-seung died by suicide in December 2021 while working at Howon Elementary School. At the time, the school reported Lee’s death as a simple fall accident, but later suspicions arose that Lee had been continuously harassed by malicious complaints from parents during his lifetime, leading to an education office audit. In September, the education office requested an investigation into three parents on charges of obstruction of business, and the bereaved family also filed a complaint against them.

Meanwhile, Lee Young-seung was posthumously recognized as having died in the line of duty two years after his death in October.