Teacher who stabbed eight year old girl to death jailed for life in South Korea

A South Korean teacher will serve a life sentence in prison after fatally stabbing an eight-year-old girl she lured into her classroom.

48-year-old Myeong Jae-wan brought the young girl into her classroom in Daejeon in February before stabbing her on the face and neck.

The victim was found suffering from a cardiac arrest by medics who attempted to save her, but she slipped into an unconscious state and later died, stated the report.

Jae-wan was found with stab wounds on her neck and arm, which officials speculated were self-inflicted, and was also hospitalised.

She claimed her judgment was weakened at the time of the murder, and had expressed violent behaviour in the days before the stabbing.

Police found that the teacher had taken a leave of absence due to depression and returned to the school late last year.

The child was attending an after-school child care class while waiting to head to a private art class, Yonhap reports.

The court heard Jae-wan had brought the knife to school with the plan to kill herself and a random child.

She will have to wear a tracking device for 30 years.

The court said: ‘As an elementary school teacher, the accused was in a position to protect the victim. But she committed this brutal crime in which a child was not protected, where they should be safest.’

South Korea is generally considered to be a safe country, with a homicide rate well below the global average.

However, violent crime has seen a surge in activity over the past year, with a string of high-profile stabbings reported in recent years,

In August 2023, a high school teacher was reportedly attacked with a knife, also in Daejeon, around 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of the capital Seoul.

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