A woman lays a bouquet of chrysanthemums on Tuesday at an elementary school in South Korea’s central city of Daejeon to mourn the death of an 8-year-old student who was stabbed to death Monday by her teacher. Photo Provided By EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT
A teacher in South Korea is in recovery after fatally stabbing a student to death this week then attempting to take her own life.
Police are investigating the fatal stabbing which took place Monday at an elementary school in Daejeon in west-central South Korea. Advertisement
The victim, identified as 8-year-old Kim Ha-neul, was reported missing Monday evening after her bus driver notified school officials that the student did not arrive to be picked up that day in the after-school program.
On Tuesday, acting President Choi Sang-mok leader ordered an investigation and urged officials to “implement necessary measures to ensure such incidents never happen again.”
The first grader was found with multiple stab wounds to her face and shoulders, according to reports.
“It pains me to see such incidents because a school should be our safest space,” stated Choi said, “I offer my deep condolences to the victim’s family who suffered great shock and agony.” Advertisement
Authorities said the stabbing took place in a second-floor storage room connected to the audiovisual room.
The teacher, in her 40s, bought the knife the day of the attack and brought it to the school, according to testimony. She was found with self-inflicted injuries to her neck and hands. The two were later transported to a hospital but the student died of excessive blood loss.
The suspect stated she randomly picked the last student leaving school that day, adding that she had planned to kill a student and then herself.
“I didn’t care who. To die together, (I chose) the last student to leave the after-school program,” the teacher told police, the Korea Herald reported.
Local residents were seen laying flowers and a stuffed doll at the school’s gate which remained closed Tuesday.
According to Daejon police, the teacher, who has not been named publicly, had a history with mental health issues and was receiving medical treatment since 2018 for depression. She was “annoyed,” she said, after returning to work following a leave because the vice principal would not let her teach.
She testified that she told the student she had a book to give her then “lured the student into the audiovisual room. Then I choked and stabbed (her).” Advertisement
Officials said on Dec. 9 she had filed for a six-month leave of absence, citing depression, but returned to the school on Dec. 31 a few weeks later after a doctor assessed her fitness to return to work.
It sent shockwaves of anger across South Korea with its focus on school safety and mental health monitoring of teachers.
According to local authorities, the suspect aggressively twisted the arm of a colleague in an outburst four days prior to the deadly stabbing. The same day, reports say she damaged a school computer after complaining about slow Internet speed.
Meanwhile, school administrators reported the incidents that led to the attack and urged officials in the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education to intervene. On Monday, two education officials visited the school but no immediate action was taken.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness provides a number of tools or resources for those seeking help.
