![Myeong Jae-wan, a teacher whose life sentence for killing first-grader Kim Ha-neul, 8, at an elementary school in Daejeon was upheld by the Supreme Court. [Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/11/news-p.v1.20260611.d327229be50f43f5a5df3dbfcc9da889_P1.jpg)
A court has ruled that Myeong Jae-wan, 50, the teacher who killed a first-grade student at an elementary school in Daejeon last year and was sentenced to life in prison, and the city of Daejeon are jointly liable for damages to the victim's family.
Judge Song Hyeon-jik of Daejeon District Court's Civil Division 20 ruled partly in favor of the plaintiffs Thursday in a damages suit filed by the family of the late Kim Ha-neul against Myeong, the city of Daejeon and the school principal.
The judge ordered Myeong and Daejeon to jointly pay each of Kim's parents 109 million won (about $71,600) and her younger sibling 18 million won. The claim against the school principal was dismissed.
The family had argued that responsibility for the incident lay not only with Myeong but also with the principal and the city of Daejeon, who were responsible for supervising Myeong under the State Compensation Act, and sought a total of about 400 million won in damages.
The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. on Feb. 10 last year. Myeong had targeted the last student remaining after making rounds of the after-school care classrooms. He lured Ha-neul to the audiovisual room by promising to give her a book, then attacked and killed her with a knife.
Myeong had been suffering from depression since the second half of 2024, repeatedly leaving work early and taking extended sick leave. He had also been gripped by severe anxiety after his husband told him he wanted a divorce. He eventually began searching terms such as "killing an elementary school student" and "how to kill a person" on his phone. On the day of the crime, he purchased a knife at a nearby supermarket and carried out the attack in the audiovisual room, which was insulated from outside noise.
The Supreme Court upheld the life sentence handed down by the second-instance court in April, finding it justified. Myeong was removed from his position following the incident.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
