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Myeong Jae-wan is accused of stabbing a pupil at an elementary school in Daejon in February 2025.
SEOUL – South Korean prosecutors on Sept 22 demanded the death penalty for a teacher accused of stabbing a first grader to death at an elementary school in Daejeon in 2025 .
During a hearing at the Daejeon District Court, prosecutors argued that Myeong Jae-wan, the 48-year-old elementary school teacher, should face capital punishment for the murder of the pupil , Kim Ha-neul, on Feb 10.
“The victim’s family has pleaded for the harshest punishment,” said prosecutors on Sept 22 .
Prosecutors also stated that while Myeong has submitted “dozens of letters of remorse” for her actions, she still showed “no genuine remorse during investigations”.
Since being indicted, Myeong reportedly submitted 86 handwritten letters of remorse to the court and a professional psychiatric evaluation of herself, leading to speculation that her lawyers may claim diminished responsibility for the crime.
Article 10 of the Criminal Act absolves the legal liability of those who are unable to control their actions due to mental illness.
The psychiatric evaluation stated that Myeong may have been in a diminished mental state during the crime.
It was also reported that she had been treated for depression for up to eight years before the murder and had taken six months of leave for mental health reasons until December 2024.
However, prosecutors have said they do not believe Myeong’s crime can be entirely put down to her mental health due to her deliberate preparations, including researching information related to murder before committing the crime.
Myeong, who worked as a teacher at Ha-neul’s school, is accused of luring the pupil to a classroom after her after-school programme ended and fatally stabbing the child with a knife she had bought. Ha-neul was pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital.
The Daejeon Office of Education dismissed Myeong and stripped her of her teaching qualifications in April.
According to the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes under South Korean law, the murder of a child under the age of 13 after abduction or enticement is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Myeong on Oct 20. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
[SRC] https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/south-korea-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-for-teacher-who-killed-8-year-old-pupil