Allegations of Peer Bullying Against an Elementary Student with Intellectual Disability

Elementary Student with Intellectual Disability
Suspected of School Violence by Peers

On the morning of July 24, foundation officials are holding placards in front of the Pureunnamu Foundation in Seocho-gu, Seoul, asking for attention to school violence. The content is unrelated to the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

An elementary school student with an intellectual disability has alleged that he was subjected to school violence, including being stripped of his clothes by a peer.

According to JTBC's "Case Manager" on the 24th, the victim's mother, Ms. A, received a call from the police on the 19th of last month informing her that her son was wandering naked on the street. A citizen had found the child standing naked at a crosswalk and reported it to the police.

In a written investigation regarding the incident, Ms. A's son stated that a friend from the same class (general class) said, "Let's go eat something delicious," and took him to a tutoring center building near the school. Ms. A claimed, "(B) took him to the fourth floor of the building, assaulted him in the men's restroom, forcibly stripped him, and then told our child, 'You go around like this,' before letting him out."

The missing clothes and bag of Ms. A's son were found in the building's restroom, stained with urine. Ms. A speculated that since the restroom floor was not wet at the time of discovery, the clothes were likely put into the toilet and then taken out and placed on the floor.

Ms. A also said, "(B) held my son's shoulder with his left hand and grabbed his arm with his right hand as they came out," adding, "He pushed him forward as if telling him to go ahead. My son waited in front of the elevator while that child kept watching from the middle of the hallway."

The building's closed-circuit television (CCTV) reportedly captured Ms. A's son and B entering the building together and going into the restroom, followed by footage of the boy pushing the victim's back as he was undressing in front of the restroom door. It is reported that Ms. A's son has been bullied since April.

A school official stated, "The claims from both sides are so different that the school is handling the case very cautiously." The school also announced plans to hold a school violence committee meeting soon.

Netizens who heard the story responded with comments such as, "It breaks my heart to think how scared the child must have been alone," "It's so painful. I'm worried about how deeply this will be remembered as trauma by such a young child," "A third grader knows everything by now; how terrifying it must have been," and "The juvenile offender system should be abolished. The offending student must be expelled unconditionally."