Multicultural Elementary Student Attempts Extreme Act After Bullying; Investigation Launched Into Alleged School Cover-Up

It has belatedly been learned that a multicultural elementary school student in Jeju attempted to jump from a building on school grounds after suffering systematic bullying from classmates.

In late November of last year, a girl surnamed A, who grew up in a multicultural family, attempted to jump from a building at the school, but her life was saved when a friend who saw her intervened.

About six months after the incident, in April, A's mother discovered chat room messages shared among A and her peers that contained content degrading and ridiculing A's nationality.

It was reported that some students continued their harassment even after the attempted jump.

A's side claimed that there were circumstances indicating the school attempted to systematically minimize and cover up the incident during this process.

They argued that the responses from the school and the Jeju Provincial Office of Education were inadequate and that support for the victim was not properly provided.

The provincial education office immediately released a statement.

Through an explanatory document, it stated, "There were aspects where formal document reporting and record-keeping regarding the attempted jump were insufficient," adding, "We will comprehensively verify the facts and measures taken throughout the response to the student's attempted jump and the process of protecting and supporting the student."

In June, A's parent filed a complaint with the Seogwipo Police Station against three school officials, including the principal, on charges such as dereliction of duty and the drafting of false official documents.

The police plan to question the accused individuals regarding the details and facts of the case in the near future.

A parent association in Jeju issued a statement urging, "The provincial education office must immediately conduct a special audit into this incident and strictly reprimand those involved in covering it up and submitting false reports."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Ryu Jisoo | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.