Five daycare teachers indicted for abusing infants in Gangneung

Five daycare teachers accused of abusing toddlers at a center in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, have been indicted, prompting parents of the victims to form an emergency committee and call for severe punishment.

The Gangneung branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors Office indicted the five teachers on child abuse charges Wednesday. Three were indicted in detention and two were released pending trial.

Police had earlier referred a total of seven people — including the center's director and teachers — to prosecutors, who are still reviewing whether to indict the remaining two.

The teachers face charges of physical and emotional abuse as well as neglect of children in their care.

The daycare center had 19 children enrolled at the time. Fourteen of them — including children with disabilities and from multicultural families — are believed to have been abused. The center specializes in infant care, and most of the victims were around 1 year old.

Police launched an investigation in August and obtained CCTV footage from the center as part of their inquiry.

A representative of the emergency committee, made up of parents of the victims, told Yonhap that a review of roughly two months of CCTV footage — from early July through late August — revealed more than 500 instances of suspected physical abuse involving children from eight families in the committee.

More than 300 suspected incidents were identified involving a single child, with dozens more found for each of the other children, according to the committee.

The footage reportedly showed teachers striking children on the face and head, forcing toys into their mouths, hitting their faces repeatedly with objects, and leaving children who had been crying from the abuse alone in corners.

Other scenes showed a teacher knocking over a child who was playing alone by hitting the child with a ball, and punching another child in the back for not sitting down. Additional footage captured a teacher hitting a child on the head with a fork during a meal and poking another child's forehead with a crayon.

The committee said the total number of abuse cases could rise if emotional harm to children who witnessed the abuse — without being directly struck themselves — is also recognized.

Parents said some of the affected children have shown behavioral changes since the incidents, including waking up during the night to check whether a parent is nearby, and pinching or kicking others. Some parents have also reported psychological distress, including insomnia, after viewing the CCTV footage. Some of the victims are now being cared for directly by their parents or have been transferred to other daycare centers.

The committee is running a petition drive calling for harsh sentences and is also preparing a rally.

A committee representative said the accused had not directly apologized to the parents of the victims. "We have heard that they are collecting letters of remorse and petitions seeking leniency without apologizing to the victims," the representative said, adding, "Those who did wrong must receive punishment befitting their actions. We are consulting with lawyers and taking steps to ensure that severe punishment is carried out."

After learning of the incident, the city of Gangneung held a meeting with the parents of the affected children and referred them to medical institutions specializing in child abuse. Through on-site inspections, the city directed the center to separate the director and teachers and also conducted related training.

The daycare center is currently closed, citing teacher resignations. The city has yet to issue any separate administrative sanctions.

Following a court ruling, the city plans to consider measures under relevant laws, including suspending or ordering the closure of the center and revoking or suspending the licenses of the director and teaching staff.

However, the city did find a violation of the 60-day mandatory retention requirement for CCTV footage and imposed a fine of 500,000 won ($373).

The city said it is monitoring the progress of the criminal trial while also reviewing what administrative measures can be taken before a verdict is issued, as well as whether the mandatory child abuse reporting obligation was violated.