‘Gwangju suicide victim was bullied’

Government prioritizes campaign against school bullying in New Year


The 14-year-old boy who killed himself in Gwangju last week had been bullied by his peers, leading the government to announce on the first working day of the New Year that it has given top priority to dealing with school bullying.

According to Gwangju police, three students had beaten him, robbed him of money and sent him threatening text messages. His friends told police that the boy had been hit by three of his classmates 29 times.

The boy’s family suspected homicide, but the autopsy on Monday found no sign of foul play, police said.

The police booked one of the bullies who frequently hit the boy in the head, face and arms in about 20 instances since last April. It will continue to investigate the two other students.

They also sent threatening messages demanding money, the police added.

The suicide came a week after another 14-year-old boy in Daegu jumped to his death after bullying by his classmates.

Recent bullying-related suicides have prompted the government to devise long-term measures against bullying.

The Education Ministry said that the school violence-related laws were revised on Sunday, and now forbid bullies from returning to the schools attended by their victims after they are transferred as punishment.

According to recent data compiled by local school committees to fight school violence, only 5.6 percent of bullies have been transferred, 0.6 percent expelled, while 61.2 percent of them completed their penalties through volunteer work from 2008 to 2011.

The bill also expands the definition of school bullying to include a wide range of cases such as “forced errands” in which bullies make their classmates buy snacks or cigarettes for them.

Police declared on Sunday that they will get tough on school violence by mobilizing some 12,000 detectives to patrol school areas and arrest bullies.

“We will set our priority for the new year on what citizens want for safety. So, we will ramp up efforts to eradicate school violence and protect the safety of children and women,” National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh said in his New Year’s speech.

On Monday, the Education Ministry held the inaugural meeting of a joint advisory committee of government officials, parents and experts on school bullying.

“The ministry is determined to eradicate school violence,” said the Education Minister Lee Ju-ho in the meeting. “We established the advisory committee to seek professional help in light of school violence. We will bring out measures that can solve school violence fundamentally through the committee and create a safe school environment.”

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)