Called "ATM" and "Slave," Four Cheongyang High School Students Expelled After Years of Group Assaults

"Committed Inhumane Crimes Including Prolonged Violence and Extortion"

Four high school students in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province, who bullied a classmate for several years?including calling him "ATM" and "slave," extorting money and valuables, and repeatedly assaulting him as a group?have been expelled from school.

Chungnam Provincial Office of Education building exterior. Provided by Chungnam Provincial Office of Education

On June 30, Yonhap News reported that the Joint School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee (the committee), which investigated the school violence case in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province, recently decided to expel the four perpetrators. The committee also issued orders prohibiting the perpetrators from contacting the victim, referred to as student A, and from engaging in threats or acts of retaliation, in order to protect him.

The Cheongyang Office of Education held the school violence committee meeting on June 20, and on June 27, delivered these decisions in writing to student A’s side. The office also determined that student A had likely suffered severe physical and psychological harm, and decided to provide psychological counseling, treatment, and recuperation support.

The perpetrators are under police investigation for bullying student A, who was their classmate at the same school, from October 2022, when they were in the second year of middle school, until April of this year?a period spanning three years. They are accused of group assaults and of extorting approximately 6 million won in cash and valuables from student A over 165 separate incidents during this time.

The perpetrators repeatedly called student A "slave," "bbang shuttle," and "ATM," and subjected him to constant bullying. It was revealed that at locations such as a pension in Cheongyang County, they tied up student A’s wrists and body with blue tape and threatened him with a weapon. They also reportedly used an electric hair clipper (commonly known as "barikang") to shave his hair, and illegally filmed parts of his body in order to threaten him.

Regarding the expulsion decision, the committee stated, "The perpetrators not only committed numerous acts of school violence?including prolonged physical violence, verbal abuse, sexual violence, extortion, and coercion?but also committed crimes against humanity. We comprehensively considered the fact that the victim endured a long period of shame and humiliation for more than three years since middle school, and that the resulting psychological damage is likely to be severe." The committee also took into account that neither the perpetrators nor their guardians made any effort to help student A recover from the harm he suffered.

Meanwhile, the police recently applied for arrest warrants for the four perpetrators, but the court rejected the request, citing the facts that this was their first offense, they are minors, and there is no risk of flight. Through further witness interviews, the police additionally booked four more classmates who participated in the crimes, bringing the total number of suspects to eight. All eight attended the same middle school as student A, and some continued to bully him even after being assigned to different high schools.