The family of Kim Ha-neul, a student murdered by a teacher at an elementary school in Daejeon, has won a partial victory in their compensation lawsuit against the perpetrator and Daejeon City. The court ruled that both Myung Jae-wan, the assailant, and Daejeon City share liability for damages.
On June 11, the Daejeon District Court's Civil Division 20, presided over by Judge Song Hyun-jik, issued a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in their lawsuit against Myung Jae-wan, Daejeon City, and the school principal.
The court ordered Myung Jae-wan and Daejeon City to jointly pay 100.9 million won to Kim's parents and 18 million won to her sibling. However, the claim against the school principal was dismissed.
The family had filed a lawsuit seeking over 400 million won in damages in April of last year. They argued that both Myung Jae-wan and the school principal, as well as Daejeon City, which oversees the school, should be held accountable.
The family pointed out that Myung's abnormal behavior had been observed prior to the incident, yet no appropriate measures were taken to prevent the crime. They sought to hold Myung liable for tortious acts and Daejeon City liable for state compensation.
In contrast, Daejeon City contended that the unique circumstances of the case warranted a separate assessment of state compensation liability, claiming that compensation paid by the School Safety Mutual Aid Association had already covered a significant portion of the damages.
The court accepted some of the family's claims, recognizing the joint liability of Myung Jae-wan and Daejeon City, but dismissed the claims against the school principal.
Kim Ha-neul was fatally stabbed by Myung Jae-wan near the audiovisual room of her school in Daejeon’s Seo-gu after finishing her after-school program in February of last year.
Myung was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in April of this year. He was dismissed from his position following the incident, and the police disclosed his personal information, including his name, age, and photograph, after a review by the Personal Information Disclosure Review Committee last year.
Additionally, it has been reported that Myung did not attend court during the compensation lawsuit proceedings.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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