Prosecutors sought a prison term for a high school student who wielded a weapon against a teacher the student believed had been overly strict during middle school.
At a sentencing hearing on the 2nd before the Criminal Agreement Division 1 of the Nonsan branch of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Myeong-hee), prosecutors asked the court to sentence A (17) to an indeterminate prison term of a maximum of 4 years and a minimum of 2 years and 6 months on an attempted murder charge.
Under the Juvenile Act, an indeterminate sentence sets the upper and lower limits of the term by dividing it into a maximum and a minimum for a juvenile.
A was indicted on charges of attempting to kill a male teacher in his 30s, B, by stabbing him multiple times with a weapon at a high school in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province, at about 8:44 a.m. on Apr. 13.
It was found that A had harbored resentment, believing that while A was in middle school, B singled A out for particularly harsh criticism or scolding. After B transferred to the high school A attended and A again came under B's instruction, A refused to go to school and, starting a week before the crime, was attending an alternative school in another area.
It was found that A planned the crime in advance and went to the school with a weapon in a bag. On the day of the crime, A requested a meeting in the principal's office, and when the principal stepped out after telling A to talk with B, whom the principal had called in, A stabbed B with the prepared weapon.
B suffered injuries to the neck and other areas and was taken to a hospital, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
Immediately after the crime, A left the school, called police directly and said, "I stabbed a person," and was then urgently arrested.
Explaining the sentencing request, the prosecutor said, "Stabbing a teacher is not a light offense, but we considered that A is a first-time offender and reached a settlement with B."
Having admitted all charges from the first hearing, A said in a final statement, "I caused the teacher pain with my wrongful actions," and added, "I will never use violence again and will resolve conflicts through dialogue."
The sentencing hearing for A will be held on the 7th of next month.