SEOUL: The bereaved family of a seven-year-old student murdered at her school will receive 127 million won (US$84,000) in compensation for their loss.
The Daejeon District Court on June 11 ordered Myeong Jae-wan, a former teacher convicted of murdering the student, Kim Ha-neul, and the Daejeon Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to the victim’s family.
The Kim family had sought more than 400 million won (US$260,000) in compensation from Myeong, Daejeon and the school principal over the murder, which occurred on Feb 10.
The family held the city and the school responsible for failing to properly manage and supervise Myeong.
The civil division of the court ruled partially in favour of the plaintiffs, but rejected their claim against the school principal.
The principal denied responsibility, saying the murder did not occur during the course of her work and should be considered a crime committed by an individual acting independently.
In what is considered one of the most shocking school-related crimes in recent years, Myeong used her position as a teacher to lure the young girl into an empty audiovisual room after school, under the pretense that she wanted to give her a book.
She then stabbed the child to death with a knife she had prepared in advance.
Investigators found that Myeong had suffered from severe depression, which led her to take multiple periods of sick leave starting in 2024.
She had also exhibited violent behaviour at work, including an attack on a colleague just four days before the murder, and the school had recommended that she take a leave of absence.
A little over an hour before the crime, Myeong told her husband in a phone call, “I cannot be miserable alone. I’ll make one more person miserable.”
Myeong was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court on April 2.
The Kim family decided to reveal the child’s name and photo after the crime, saying they wanted to draw public attention to the case so that no such tragedy would happen again. - The Korea Herald/ANN
