The unidentified teacher, who is set to be interrogated by South Korean police once she recovers, was found with stab wounds police believe she inflicted on herself
A teacher who confessed to brutally stabbing one of her pupils to death was involved in a separate violent incident just days before.
The teacher in her 40s confessed to stabbing an eight-year-old girl to death in Daejeon, South Korea, on Monday, after the youngster was discovered with multiple stab wounds on the second floor of a school building. The grisly crime has caused international ripples, with the teacher now receiving treatment for stab wounds she is believed to have inflicted on herself after the incident.
South Korea’s interim President Choi Sang-mok has ordered an investigation as new details emerge about the perpetrator, who has not yet been named. She had been involved in a previous incident in which she held another teacher in a headlock, just days after returning to work from a brief leave of absence.
Local media has reported that the teacher, citing depression, requested six months off work late last year on December 9, but received less than a month. She returned to school 20 days later after a doctor found her fit to work, according to the Daejeon education office.
While she had no relationship with the student she confessed to killing, she had previously displayed violent behaviour when she placed another teacher in a headlock. The previous incident, which took place a few days before the shock slaying of the eight-year-old, was investigated by two officials from the education office.
They arrived to look into the matter on the morning of the stabbing on Monday, and later recommended the two teachers be physically separated. The investigators further recommended the teacher be kept under close watch, and was made to side beside the vice principal’s desk.
Investigators are yet to theorise a motive for either incident, with no personal connection found between the teacher and the eight-year-old stabbing victim. She was found to have sustained stab wounds to her neck and face by firefighters attending the scene, the local Yonhap news agency said, with questioning set to resume once she has undergone surgery.
The eight-year-old was found by her grandmother, officials from the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education said in a media briefing on Tuesday, and officials have shared their condolences to the family. Acting president Choi said in his own statement that he was “pained” to learn of the incident as he ordered an investigation to ensure it never happens again.
He said: “It pains me to see such incidents because a school should be our safest space. I offer my deep condolences to the victim’s family who suffered great shock and agony.”