S. Korean leaders promise to root out school bullying after suicides

Last December the middle school students, one in the southeastern city of Daegu and the other in the southwestern city of Gwangju, took their own lives.

The student at Daegu left a suicide note saying he had been brutally bullied by his classmates. Two alleged attackers were arrested last month.

They are accused of regularly beating the victim, forcing him to play online games at night to collect rewards for them and pushing his head underwater when he refused.

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-Sik vowed “grave determination” to end school violence and warned of heavy punishment for school administrators who try to cover up cases to protect their careers.

“How has our society come to this?” he said at a televised press conference.

Kim announced new measures so bullies can be suspended for as many days as necessary, easing the current limit of 30 days a year.

The number of school counselors will be increased and therapy sessions for victims will be guaranteed by law. Offenders will be required by law to attend counseling sessions.

President Lee Myung-Bak also criticized school administrators who under-report misconduct by students for fear of receiving poor evaluations.

“Fearing revenge by the attackers, they (the victims) could not even confide in their teachers or parents,” Lee said in a fortnightly radio address.

“Now is high time for us all to join forces and take action to safeguard our children from school violence.”

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