Education Ministry urges punishment of Daejeon school officials over teacher who murdered student

The Ministry of Education has instructed the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education to punish school administrators who knew the teacher who murdered a 7-year-old girl in February had violent tendencies but did little about it.

A person reads a news report on Myeong Jae-wan, the teacher accused of fatally stabbing a 7-year-old student at an elementary school in Daejeon in February, in a household in Daejeon on March 12. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Ministry of Education has instructed the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education to punish school administrators who knew the teacher who murdered a 7-year-old girl in February had violent tendencies but did little about it.

The ministry released the findings of its investigation, conducted from Feb. 17 to 28, into the fatal incident that occurred on Feb. 10 this year. The ministry has requested severe disciplinary action against the school principal, and lighter disciplinary measures for the vice principal and the head of the relevant department at the district education office.

The investigation revealed that several days before the incident, the school principal was informed that the teacher, Myeong Jae-wan, had smashed her computer and exhibited threatening behavior toward a fellow teacher.

Although the Daejeon education office recommended reporting the incident to the police, the principal failed to do so and did not file a legal complaint despite the conduct violating the law.

The ministry also found that the principal failed to fulfill their duties by not recognizing Myeong’s unauthorized departure from her workplace on the day of the incident.

The vice principal, who was in charge of managing faculty attendance, also failed to report Myeong’s unauthorized departure to the principal, neglected to verify whether Myeong had left for the day and did not share information about Myeong’s abnormal behavior with after-school staff such as care program supervisors.

Myeong Jae-wan, the teacher accused of fatally stabbing a 7-year-old student at an elementary school in Daejeon in February, is seen in a police vehicle on March 7. [NEWS1]

The head of the district education office in charge of the school was found to have recognized the gravity of Myeong’s behavior after receiving a report from the principal, but failed to immediately inform superiors or launch an urgent investigation.

Furthermore, when visiting the school for an investigation, the official closed the case without meeting Myeong.

The ministry has officially informed the Daejeon education office of its findings.

“We will do our utmost to ensure that such incidents never happen again,” a ministry official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]