Teacher forced elementary students to run 30 laps in summer heat, sending one to ICU

Staff at an unlicensed education facility are under police investigation after forcing elementary school students to run 30 laps around a soccer field in midsummer, leaving one child hospitalized with a condition that causes muscle tissue to break down.

The North Chungcheong Province Police Agency's women and juvenile crimes investigation unit said Wednesday it had received a complaint against five people — including a teacher identified as A and the facility's principal and vice principal — at an unlicensed school attached to a church in Chungju. The suspects are being investigated on charges of aggravated child abuse under the Child Abuse Punishment Act and violations of the Child Welfare Act.

The suspects are accused of forcing 17 students, including an 11-year-old identified as B, to run 30 laps around a soccer field at Seo-Chungju Life Sports Park on June 29.

B collapsed after completing the run and was taken to an emergency room. The student was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and treated in an intensive care unit.

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which muscle cells are damaged by excessive exercise or physical trauma, causing substances inside the cells to leak into the bloodstream. In severe cases, it can lead to acute kidney injury.

Teacher A is said to have imposed the punishment — with the facility's approval — because students read the Bible aloud only during that teacher's class period.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the punishment and whether it constitutes child abuse, including whether the facility's management was directly involved in what was done to B.