Lee Sujeong "20,000 teachers receive depression treatment annually... Stigmatization must be avoided"

"Inappropriate to Disclose History of Depression"

A teacher in their 40s who stabbed and killed 8-year-old Kim Ha-neul at an elementary school in Daejeon was known to have been receiving treatment for depression. In this context, Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Crime Psychology and Correction at Kyonggi University stated, "Depression has no causal relationship with this type of violent behavior."

Professor Lee Sujeong, Department of Criminal Psychology, Kyonggi University. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

On the 13th, on YTN Radio's Issue & People, Professor Lee said, "What I pay the most attention to is the part where he said he was 'irritated' just three days after returning to work," adding, "It seems that this incident happened because he was irritated. If you look at it that way, I think this person had serious personality issues rather than depression."

She also pointed out that it was inappropriate for the police to disclose the teacher’s history of depression during their briefing. Professor Lee said, "More than 20,000 teachers receive treatment for depression each year due to work difficulties," and added, "If such information is released, it stigmatizes all of them as maladjusted to the teaching profession."

Professor Lee further stated, "After this person returned to work, various violent acts were reported. Five days before the incident, he damaged a computer because it was not working well, and he also assaulted teachers who tried to counsel him about his difficulties," adding, "It seems he had ongoing problems, and I wonder why such an unfortunate outcome was not identified earlier. The system must bear some responsibility."

She analyzed this case as an abnormal motive crime. He explained, "Abnormal motive murders and this case share similar patterns," adding, "The victim is unpredictable, and the perpetrator has unique characteristics." He continued, "For example, a person with schizophrenia accompanied by paranoia or someone with extreme antisocial personality disorder, like in this case, ultimately enacts a kind of revenge play against the most defenseless person as a form of venting or mistaken defense."

Regarding the perpetrator’s attempted self-harm, he analyzed, "It is said that even when arguing with other teachers, he said things like 'Why am I the only one who is unhappy?' which is highly likely to be related to antisocial thinking," and added, "(The self-harm) seems to have been an attempt to avoid the situation because his thoughts were exposed, realizing that he had nowhere else to go."

On the issue of whether to disclose personal information, he said, "It is presumed that the perpetrator has family," and added, "It depends on who conducts the review at each session, so it is difficult to predict the outcome."