Kim Haneul, a Dedicated Supporter in Her Lifetime
Daejeon Hana Citizen Uniform Displayed at Her Funeral
Hwang Sunhong, head coach of K League 1 club Daejeon Hana Citizen, visited the funeral of Kim Haneul, the 8-year-old girl who died after being stabbed by a teacher at her school, to pay his respects.
On February 12, after paying his respects at Kim's funeral at the funeral hall of Konyang University Hospital in Seo-gu, Daejeon, Hwang offered words of comfort to the bereaved family. During her life, Kim and her father, a passionate football fan, were active supporters of Daejeon Hana Citizen. The father and daughter would attend every home game at Daejeon World Cup Stadium and cheer passionately for the team. At Kim's funeral, a uniform with "Utopia Daejeon" written on it was also displayed.
Upon hearing the news, the club posted a tribute message on Instagram the previous day: "Kim Haneul. We express our deepest condolences and mourn your passing. Haneul, may you become a beautiful star." In response, Kim's father commented, "Haneul, Dad is so, so sorry and loves you so, so much. Thank you for being born as my daughter. Please be my daughter again in the next life. I love you, Kim Haneul."
Coach Hwang, who visited the funeral that day, said, "It hurts even more because Haneul was so young and loved football. I hope she can rest peacefully in a better place." Football fans sent condolence wreaths under names such as "Daejeon Hana Citizen Fan" and "Daejeon Red Devils."
Sangmok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Strategy and Finance, visited the funeral hall set up in Seo-gu, Daejeon on the 12th to pay his respects at the funeral of the deceased elementary school student victim Kim Haneul in the Daejeon elementary school murder case. Ministry of Strategy and Finance Yonhap News Photo by Yonhap
Other visitors to Kim's funeral included Sangmok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Yuk Jongmyung, chief of Daejeon Seobu Police Station. At Kim's father's request, Kwon Youngse, interim leader of the People Power Party, and Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are also scheduled to visit the funeral in Daejeon.
Previously, on February 10 at around 4:30 p.m., Kim's parents received a call that she had not arrived at her after-school academy and reported her missing to the police. Location tracking indicated that Kim's phone was in the audiovisual room on the second floor of her school, where both Kim and a teacher in her 40s, identified as Mr. A, were found collapsed. The police initially faced difficulties in determining the circumstances and identifying the suspect due to the lack of CCTV footage at the scene. However, Mr. A confessed to the crime later that afternoon. It was also confirmed that Mr. A had purchased the weapon near the school during lunchtime on the day of the incident. There are growing calls to expedite the process of disclosing Mr. A's personal information, and the police are reportedly considering making this information public.
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