City forms joint task force with related agencies
Gangneung city officials have formed a joint task force with related agencies in response to a child abuse case at a local daycare center that has sparked outrage across the country.
According to the city, prosecutors on Thursday referred seven daycare teachers to trial on charges of abusing children around the age of one. That same day, the city held an emergency joint response meeting at Gangneung City Hall, bringing together officials from the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Police Agency, the Gangneung Regional Crime Victim Support Center, the Gangwon Eastern Child Protection Agency, Gangneung Asan Hospital — which operates a child protection program — the Gangneung Daycare Center Association and the Gangneung Childcare Support Center. Participants focused on developing tailored support measures for the affected infants and their families.
The city has also fined the daycare center for violating regulations on the retention of closed-circuit television footage.
City officials said they are actively reviewing whether administrative action can be taken against the facility and its staff even before a final court ruling is issued.
Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam said the city would spare no effort in helping the abused children and their families return to normal life as quickly as possible. Kim also directed relevant departments to conduct special inspections of all 93 daycare centers in the city and to draw up a comprehensive plan to eradicate child abuse, with the goal of creating a safe and healthy environment for children to grow up in.
Parents of the affected children have formed an emergency committee and are calling for severe punishment of those responsible.
The daycare center had 19 children enrolled at the time of the incidents, and 14 of them — including children from families with disabilities and multicultural backgrounds — are believed to have been abused. The victims were predominantly one-year-olds, as the facility specialized in infant care.
CCTV footage reviewed by the emergency committee revealed more than 500 instances of suspected physical abuse involving children from eight families represented in the group.
The footage reportedly shows teachers striking children on the face and head, forcing toys into their mouths, hitting them repeatedly with objects, and leaving crying children alone in corners after assaulting them.
Other scenes captured on camera include a teacher knocking over a child who was playing alone by pushing a ball at them, punching a child in the back for not sitting down, hitting a child on the head with a fork during a meal, and jabbing a child's forehead with a crayon.
The emergency committee said the total number of abuse cases could rise further if emotional harm to children who witnessed the violence — even without being directly targeted — is also recognized.
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