Taekwondo instructor booked for striking elementary student's head with phone

A taekwondo instructor in his 40s has been booked by police in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on suspicion of striking an elementary school student on the head multiple times with a mobile phone.

The Jinju Police Station said Thursday it is investigating the instructor, identified only as A, on charges of child abuse under the Child Welfare Act.

A is accused of hitting a fifth-grade student, identified as B, on the head more than 10 times with a mobile phone on Friday while driving students home in the taekwondo school's vehicle. Police said A struck the student because B had violated a rule prohibiting mobile phone use inside the vehicle. B was seated in the front passenger seat at the time.

B sustained a head wound that bled and required hospital treatment.

A social media user identifying herself as B's aunt posted an account of the incident on Threads on Wednesday.

In a video she shared, a man believed to be the instructor can be heard hurling profanities and verbal abuse while striking sounds are audible. The child believed to be the victim repeatedly said only, "No, no."

Other students, including B's older sister, were also in the back seat of the vehicle at the time, police confirmed. B's sister is said to have recorded the incident on a mobile phone.

"Even after watching the video, I couldn't believe it," the aunt wrote. "Whatever the child may have done wrong, can that ever justify violence? What is even more shocking is that this happened while he was driving with multiple children in the car. I sincerely hope we can build a world where children can grow up safely, trusting the adults around them."

Online commenters expressed outrage. "It's taekwondo again — it feels like just yesterday there was that incident where an elementary student was rolled up in a mat," one wrote. Another said, "That level of behavior looks like an anger management disorder — he should be banned from teaching children." A third added, "The kids in the back must be traumatized too. Child abuse charges should apply to them as well."