"Bruises All Over the Body... On the Day Dad Passed Away Too" Jeju Classmate School Violence 'Aftermath'

'Refusing to Answer Phone' Leads to Indiscriminate Beating
Perpetrator Forced to Transfer Due to School Violence
Victim's Family Considers Moving Over Retaliation Concerns

A high school student was dragged and assaulted by classmates on the day of his father's funeral. On the 4th, the Jeju Eastern Police Station announced that they had booked classmates B and C on charges of joint assault for violently attacking high school student A, and are investigating whether there are additional victims. B and others are suspected of assaulting A twice indiscriminately.

They called out A last month on the 8th and assaulted him because he "did not answer the phone." It was confirmed that perpetrator B had attended the same school as A until recently but was forcibly transferred due to repeated violent behavior at school. Even after transferring, he called former classmates to commit acts of violence. It is known that the day A was beaten until his whole body was bruised was the day his father passed away. On the day of his father's funeral, A expressed pain to his family but did not reveal that he had been assaulted.

They called out Student A last month on the 8th and assaulted him because he "did not answer the phone." It was confirmed that the perpetrator, Student B, had attended the same school as Student A until recently but was forcibly transferred due to repeated violent behavior at school.
[Photo by Asia Economy]

The assaults by the perpetrators worsened after A’s father’s funeral. Six days after the first assault, in the early morning of the 14th of the same month, they dragged A from a villa in Geonip-dong, Jeju, to a nearby park without CCTV coverage and assaulted him for about two hours. In an interview with KBS, A’s family said, "One of the perpetrators, who practices judo, kept hitting without controlling his strength. Using judo techniques, he slammed A into a pavilion and hit him with all his emotions, as if telling him to die."

They added, "He vomited blood and had a nosebleed. They kept hitting his chest and slapping his face repeatedly, so he said he didn’t even have the strength to tell them to stop. When he came home, they made him wash off all the blood before putting him in a taxi." A did not tell his family about the assault until the extreme pain forced him to visit a hospital with relatives. A’s mother learned about the assault belatedly through the doctor’s diagnosis of his injuries.

They called out Student A last month on the 8th and assaulted him because he "did not answer the phone." It was confirmed that the perpetrator, Student B, had attended the same school as Student A until recently but was forcibly transferred due to repeated violent behavior at school. Even after transferring, he called classmates from his previous school and committed acts of violence.
[Photo by KBS News]

The medical report stated, "After being beaten by friends, symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and left-sided hearing loss appeared. At least 3 to 4 weeks of medication and observation are required." A was eventually diagnosed with injuries requiring four weeks of treatment and was hospitalized. A’s family is reportedly considering moving to avoid retaliation or further violence.

Ultimately, A’s mother filed a complaint against B and others and informed the school of the situation. The school planned to hold a school violence countermeasure committee meeting to decide on disciplinary measures, but since the perpetrators withdrew from school, the committee could not be convened. The police are investigating B and others based on the victim’s statements.

"Experienced school violence" response rate among elementary, middle, and high school students at 1.9%, highest in 10 years

Despite ongoing efforts, the proportion of elementary, middle, and high school students who reported experiencing school violence last year reached 1.9%, the highest in a decade. The number of victims had dropped below 30,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic but rose again to about 59,000 last year. Over the past 10 years, the most common type of school violence experienced by students was verbal abuse.

According to the 2023 first school violence survey results announced by the Ministry of Education on the 13th of last month, the percentage of students reporting victimization was 1.9%, the highest since the 2013 survey (2.2%). Among approximately 3.17 million students who responded, about 59,000 reported experiencing violence. The Ministry’s school violence survey began in 2012. Awareness of school violence increased after a middle school student in Daegu committed suicide following group bullying at the end of 2011.

However, the 2012 survey was conducted by mailing questionnaires, resulting in an average response rate of only 25%, which was criticized as not providing valid statistics. Online surveys began in 2013. The percentage of students reporting victimization has ranged between 1% and 2% annually, dropping to 0.9% in 2020 when remote classes started due to COVID-19.

Over the past decade, the victimization rate has been higher among elementary students. This year, the rate among elementary students reached 3.9%, the highest since 2013. In contrast, the victimization rates among middle and high school students have gradually decreased. The rate among middle school students steadily declined from 2.4% in 2013 to 1.3% this year. For high school students, it dropped from 0.9% in 2013 to 0.4% this year.

The most common type of school violence (multiple responses allowed) was verbal abuse. Since the 2013 survey, it has consistently accounted for over 30%, ranking first every year. The rate of verbal abuse rose to 41.8% last year and was 37.1% this year. Cyberbullying peaked at 12.3% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but dropped to 6.9% this year. Physical violence showed an opposite trend to cyberbullying. It fell to 7.9% in 2020 but rose to 17.3% this year.

Regarding the increase in physical violence, the Korea Federation of Teachers’ Associations pointed out, "While awareness of verbal and cyber violence has been raised, we need to reassess whether awareness and responses to physical violence have weakened."