"My child died... but they smiled saying I gave birth" Taekwondo Dojang Abuse Death Mother’s Anguish

Amid the release of CCTV footage showing the abuse by the head instructor at a Taekwondo academy in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, which led to the death of a 5-year-old child, the victim's mother shared a heartbreaking story about visiting the instructor.

Taekwondo gym director Mr. B placed a 5-year-old child upside down inside a mat, preventing the child from breathing. The child, who fell into a coma, eventually died 11 days after the incident. JTBC 'Case Officer'

The victim's mother, Ms. A, expressed her anguish in an interview with YTN on the 18th, saying, "The image of my child suffering in the CCTV footage keeps haunting me."

Recently, CCTV footage revealing the abuse by a 30-year-old head instructor, Mr. B, at a Taekwondo academy in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, which caused the death of a 5-year-old student, was made public. The video shows Mr. B forcefully shoving the victim upside down into a rolled-up mat approximately 124 cm tall. The child, trapped in a hole and unable to breathe, struggled and cried out "Help me," but Mr. B ignored this for 27 minutes while playing with other children. The victim was eventually transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest and passed away 11 days later. The cause of death was 'hypoxic brain injury.'

After the incident, Ms. A watched the footage that Mr. B had deleted and said, "At first, I thought he was shoving a mannequin into the mat," then added tearfully, "But after watching it again and again, I realized it was my son." She also recounted a recent visit to see Mr. B, which left her even more upset. Ms. A said, "'Are you happy about something? Why are you smiling like that?' I asked him, and he said he had a baby. But my child is dead," she said, unable to continue.

Ms. A appealed, "The instructors also abused my son. They pretended nothing happened, but the CCTV caught everything," and added, "I hope proper punishment is carried out. Fundamental measures must be established to prevent such incidents from happening again."

Earlier, on the 11th, Ms. A commented on the JTBC News YouTube video that showed the CCTV footage from the time of the incident, stating, "The reason I agreed to release the footage is to prevent tragedies like what happened to my son from happening again," and "I hope child protection laws are strengthened. My son has become a star in the sky, but I hope many other children can live happily in this world."

The police restored the CCTV footage that Mr. B deleted at the time of the incident and found that he had abused the victim more than 140 times over two months from May until just before the incident. Mr. B is currently being prosecuted for child abuse resulting in death and is on trial. Additionally, three Taekwondo instructors are under investigation for child abuse and aiding and abetting charges.