Child of Assemblyman A Revealed as School Violence Perpetrator
Second Mourning Flower Wreath Protest at Assembly Following Elementary School Incident
"Resign and Leave Seongnam" Condemnation
Amid a school violence incident at an elementary school in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, parents held a second protest with condolence wreaths.
On the morning of the 28th, a condolence wreath condemning Assemblyman A of Seongnam City Council, who was identified as a perpetrator of school violence by his child, was placed on the sidewalk in front of Seongnam City Council in Gyeonggi Province. [Source=Yonhap News]
On the morning of the 28th, about 50 condolence wreaths bearing phrases demanding the resignation of Councilor A were lined up in front of the Solsup Madang at Seongnam City Council. Local parents continued their second protest in front of the council after holding the first protest on the 23rd in front of the elementary school regarding the controversy over school violence involving Councilor A’s child.
They condemned Councilor A by placing phrases such as "City Council must immediately start expulsion," "Resign and leave Seongnam," "Don’t dirty Bundang, get out," and "Stop avoiding responsibility, resign" on the condolence wreaths. They also criticized the incident on the 23rd when Seonghye Ryeon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, requested a 5-minute free speech to strengthen school violence measures, but Lee Deok-su, chairman of Seongnam City Council from the People Power Party, restricted it, with the phrase "Stop silencing school violence remarks, Lee Deok-su resign."
According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education and Seongnam City Council, four sixth-grade students at an elementary school in Bundang-gu committed violence against one student from April to June. The perpetrators reportedly forced the victim to eat a mixture of snacks and sand in a park and bullied them by pressing down on their body as a game penalty. After confirming these facts, the education authorities recently held a School Violence Countermeasure Committee meeting and ordered two of the perpetrators to submit written apologies and change classes. For the two students less involved, written apologies and four hours of school service or just written apologies were decided, respectively.
After it was revealed that one of the perpetrators was the child of Councilor A of Seongnam City Council from the People Power Party, Councilor A posted an apology, saying, "As a parent, I bear great responsibility for not teaching properly." However, on the 20th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker, issued a dismissal order through the "People Power Party Bundang Gap Member Council’s Position on Seongnam School Violence," saying, "Take responsibility and leave the party." Eventually, Councilor A submitted a resignation from the People Power Party Gyeonggi Provincial Party on the morning of the 21st. That afternoon, members of the Democratic Party Council at Seongnam City Council held a press conference urging Councilor A to voluntarily resign. Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, also promised at the National Assembly’s Education Committee audit on the 22nd, "I have ordered an audit of the School Violence Countermeasure Committee" and "We will take corrective actions through a strict audit."
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