In 2011, a junior high school student who made an extreme choice because he was unable to endure school violence in Daegu was alive and part of his suicide note was posted in a community. Kleeang capture
“I’m already blinding my tears at the thought of not being able to see my family instead of ending the days I used to be every day. I hope you will be happy without me. I love you mom and dad!”
This is a part of the contents of a will that appeared in an article posted on an online community on the 22nd under the title “A junior high school student’s will that always comes to mind when I see a harassment incident.” A few hours before the deceased made an extreme choice, the author uploaded a part of the will and the picture taken on the CCTV. “Sometimes I wonder if it is too harsh for the perpetrator, but when I recall this student’s will and the scene in the CCTV, You will get everything,” he wrote. He added, “The victim and his family have to live their entire lives in pain, but shouldn’t the perpetrator be subjected to the same thing?”
This will was left by the late Kwon Seung-min, who made an extreme choice in 2011 through school violence. Gwon, who was in the second year of middle school at the time, was subjected to constant harassment by his classmates, including water torture, beatings, and extortion of money and goods. Kwon-gun left a four-page A4 note in the living room of the house and wrote down the reason for failing to report, saying, “I tried to ask for help from my parents or teachers, but I was afraid of retaliation.”
Known as the’Daegu Middle School Student Incident’, this incident caused resentment by the release of CCTV photos of the elevator containing the full text of Kwon’s suicide note and the last image of his life. With this incident, the School Violence Prevention Act was revised in February of the following year, and in June, the School Violence Police Officer (SPO) system was introduced as one of the pan-governmental measures to eradicate school violence.
‘Daegu middle school student suicide’ 10 years have passed, but school violence continues
School violence illustration. Central photo
However, even after 10 years, school violence continues. According to the results of the’School Violence Survey’ released last month by the Ministry of Education and 17 provincial offices of education, the proportion of cyber violence increased from 8.9% in 2019 to 12.3% last year. The response that the victim site was’outside school’ increased from 25.1% in 2019 to 35.7% last year.
As non-face-to-face classes have increased due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), school violence has increased outside of school or through cyberspace such as social media networks (SNS). Seung Jae-hyun, a research fellow at the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, said, “School violence such as verbal violence and cyber bullying can occur regardless of whether it is inside or outside the school.” I spend more time at academies than at school. I also have to pay close attention to blind spots such as outside the school.”
As school violence in the space outside the school increases, it is not a problem that will end only with the separation of the perpetrator and the victim. Commissioner Seung said, “According to the School Violence Prevention Act, it is urgent to quickly transfer or expel the school, but from the perspective of the victim student, if the victim is expelled, there is a high probability of meeting another student outside the school or on social media. said. He added, “It is important to stop the perpetrator from doing that, and the victim needs to receive a sincere apology, forgive and reconcile, and heal in the process.”
“The problem of atmosphere rather than the system”
Experts say the system is already in place, and advise that the atmosphere of lightly viewing school violence should be improved. Commissioner Seung said, “There are also serious problems such as extortion and sexual assault, which we can see as violent crimes, but we should not just dismiss it as school violence,” he said. said.
Noh Yun-ho, an attorney specializing in school violence (law firm Sawol), said, “Many systems such as the School Violence Committee were introduced, and the school violence committee was transferred to the Education Support Office last year. “The teacher is not aware of the seriousness and does not know what kind of violence is going on among the actual students. In addition, he suggested, “not only that teachers and parents are interested, but an atmosphere that recognizes and empathizes with the seriousness should be formed.”
Reporter Jeong Hee-yoon [email protected]
