High school students across Korea are issuing statements demanding the harshest possible punishment for a man in his 20s who fatally stabbed a 17-year-old female student returning home after late-night studying.
The movement began with "Maehyang," the school magazine editorial team at Gyeongsin Girls' High School in Gwangju. On the 8th, the group posted a statement titled "An Appeal to All Youth" on its official Instagram account.
"The victim was a precious friend who dreamed of becoming an emergency medical technician or nurse, dedicated to saving others' lives, and had the warmest heart of anyone," the group said in the statement. "Our friend's dream came to such a senseless halt." The victim, identified as A, was reportedly a friend of a Maehyang member.
"Although the perpetrator, surnamed Jang, is claiming this was a spontaneous crime with the cowardly excuse that 'life was no fun,' it was clearly a thoroughly planned tragedy with explicit intent," the statement emphasized.
"What angers us more than his crime is the world's indifference," the students said. "Even though a young girl's dreams and future have been mercilessly trampled, the view counts on related news reports are extremely low compared to other issues," they said, calling for greater attention.
The group also urged, "Please impose the maximum legal penalty on Jang so that excuses such as 'diminished mental capacity' or 'spontaneity' cannot apply." As of 9 a.m. on the 11th, Maehyang's statement had received 86,000 likes.
On the same day, similar statements followed, including "Student Safety Is Not Subject to Compromise" from the Suwan High School student council and "Please Protect the Present of Our Youth" from the Jeonnam Girls' High School student council. High school students in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, also issued statements.
"Seokryu's Window," the newspaper club at Sokcho Girls' High School, said in its statement on the 8th: "We extend our deep sorrow and condolences over the tragic incident that recently occurred in the Cheomdan district of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju." The students appealed, "This tragedy must never be repeated. We hope this incident does not end as a one-time news item or mere online consumption."
At around 12:10 a.m. on the 5th, Jang, a man in his 20s, stabbed 17-year-old A to death with a knife on a road near a university in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. He also wielded the knife at 17-year-old B, who came to help after hearing A's scream, seriously injuring him.
During police questioning, Jang claimed the crime was spontaneous, saying, "I was contemplating suicide because life was no fun, and then I had an urge to commit the crime." However, police are continuing their investigation with a focus on the possibility of a premeditated crime, based on the circumstances before and after the attack and his attempts to destroy evidence.
Before the crime, Jang had turned off his mobile phone and wandered the streets carrying two knives he had purchased two days earlier, it was found. After the crime, he fled after discarding the weapons near the scene and stopped at an unmanned laundromat to wash his bloodstained clothes. While waiting for his laundry at the laundromat, he behaved nonchalantly, including lying down outside the shop and smoking cigarettes. Suspicions have also been raised about possible attempts to destroy evidence, such as throwing one of his two mobile phones into a river.
Jang fled immediately after the crime but was arrested by police near his residence about 11 hours after the incident and is currently being investigated in custody. On the 8th, the Gwangju Police Agency held a review committee on personal information disclosure and decided to disclose Jang's identity, but the actual disclosure has been postponed to the 14th after Jang refused.
