Prosecutors have demanded a prison sentence for a high school student who attacked and injured a teacher with a weapon due to a grudge dating back to his middle school days.

During the sentencing hearing held today (the 2nd) by the first criminal division of the Nonsan Branch of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Myung-hee), prosecutors asked the court to sentence A, 17, to between two and a half and four years in prison.

Under the Juvenile Act, minors under the age of 19 who commit crimes can be sentenced to indeterminate sentences with upper and lower limits divided into maximum and minimum terms.

A was indicted on charges of attempting to murder a male teacher in his 30s, surnamed B, by stabbing him multiple times with a weapon at a high school in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province, at 8:44 a.m. on April 13.

It was found that A harbored resentment, believing that Teacher B had singled him out for harsher criticism or discipline more than others during his middle school years.

When Teacher B transferred to the same high school and began disciplining him again, A refused to attend school, and starting a week before the crime, he had been attending an alternative school located in another region.

Investigations revealed that A premeditated the crime, packed a weapon in his bag on the day of the incident, and went to the school to carry out the attack.

"Although the nature of the crime—stabbing a teacher with a weapon—is not light, we took into consideration the fact that A is a first-time offender and has reached a settlement with Victim B," the prosecutor stated regarding the reasoning behind the sentencing recommendation.

A, who admitted to all the criminal charges from the first trial, stated in his final statement, "I caused pain to the teacher through my wrongful actions. 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.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)