SBS ‘I want to know that’ has re-examined the crime of teacher Myung Jae-wan, who murdered an elementary school student.

On Feb. 10, around 4:30 p.m., the driver of an art academy who arrived at a school in Daejeon pressed the intercom at the entrance as usual. This was to pick up 1st grader Kim Ha-neul, who was staying in the care classroom. However, Ha-neul did not come down that day. When she pressed the intercom again 10 minutes later, the teacher in the care classroom replied that the child had already left the classroom. Ha-neul had disappeared.

Upon receiving the news, the parents rushed to the scene and began searching inside and outside the school with the police. They had installed an app on the child’s phone that could listen to surrounding sounds in case of emergency, and only suspicious breathing of an adult woman was heard, which caused even more concern. Not long after, the parents received devastating news. Ha-neul was found stabbed in the school’s audiovisual room.

A horrific tragedy occurred inside the school. The perpetrator, a middle-aged woman who had stabbed Ha-neul, who was merely a 1st grader, dozens of times with a knife, had made suspicious breathing noises near the child’s phone. The woman, who was said to have injured herself and was lying next to Ha-neul, was soon transported to the hospital, but the confirmation of her identity brought more shock. The perpetrator was the school’s own teacher, Myung Jae-wan.

Until just 10 minutes before the incident, Ha-neul had been with friends. Myung had prepared a weapon in advance, hidden it in the audiovisual room, and lured Ha-neul, who was coming out of the 1st grade care classroom, to murder her. How could such a horrific crime occur in a place that should be the safest, a school? Why did Myung kill Ha-neul so brutally?

People remembered Myung Jae-wan, a 25-year teacher, as a kind and friendly teacher. Testimonies included, ‘She was gentle and was led around by the children’ and ‘one of the best teachers.’

Why did Myung transform into a murderer? She took sick leave for treatment of depression during the last semester and subsequently applied for a six-month medical leave. However, she suddenly applied for reinstatement after 21 days, which was accepted, and just a week after returning to work for the new semester in February, she committed the crime.

She exhibited unusual signs at school before murdering Ha-neul. She broke the school’s computers and assaulted a fellow teacher while carrying a cutter, among other incomprehensible behaviors. Shortly after, she killed Ha-neul.

Experts pointed out that her crime was premeditated. One expert noted, ‘She should have been kept from school. There could have been a plan since she broke the computer. The target was just changed,’ highlighting that there were clear signals in Myung’s behavior.

The police only mentioned that the cause of Myung’s depression was family discord. But how was she able to return to work?

When a teacher on leave applies for reinstatement with a medical certificate attached, reinstatement is possible within 30 days. At that time, the psychiatrist indicated that Myung’s condition had recovered to a level where normal daily life was possible, which led to the decision for Myung Jae-wan’s reinstatement. Experts expressed their skepticism over how the opinion that six months of leave was necessary could change to allow for normal work in just three weeks.

One expert analyzed that when she felt restricted in the school, which she saw as an escape, she experienced frustration and expressed this through subsequent violent actions. It was speculated that her attack on Ha-neul was likely due to her instinctive tendency to target those weaker than herself.

The production team wanted to ask why the school did not report Myung’s threatening behavior to the police, but the school declined to comment.

In response, an expert criticized the culture of benevolence prevalent in the education sector, stating, ‘Even if there are problems, there is a culture of trying to embrace and resolve them,’ highlighting that this ultimately led to a bigger problem.

[Photo] SBS, broadcast capture

[OSEN]