[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A second-grade elementary school student in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, was forced into so-called "yacha" fights by classmates and older students and subjected to repeated assaults, in an incident that has only recently come to light.

According to a YTN report Tuesday, on Children's Day — May 5 — a second-grader identified as Student A at an elementary school in Paju was coerced into "yacha" fights by four students: two fourth-graders, one second-grader and one middle school second-grader. Yacha is slang for a bare-knuckle brawl with no rules in which participants attack each other freely.

The perpetrators began summoning Student A to the school gymnasium on Tuesday and forced him into fights on multiple occasions. Footage from security cameras made public since then shows the group rushing into the gymnasium while Student A followed alone, wiping away tears.

Before the fights began, the perpetrators also reportedly encouraged Student A and his opponent to exchange verbal abuse.

Student A refused multiple times, but the assaults did not stop. Audio recordings confirmed his repeated refusals. The perpetrators then moved the violence to a nearby apartment complex the following day, continuing the assaults and filming the fights.

Student A sustained bruising around his eyes and on both legs and was assessed as needing psychological treatment to address fear and anxiety.

A school violence review committee found all four perpetrators guilty of school violence. They received only Level 2 and Level 3 disciplinary measures — the lowest tiers in a nine-level system — consisting of a ban on contact with the victim, community service within the school and mandatory special education.

Because a class reassignment requires a Level 7 or higher ruling, Student A is reportedly still attending school in the same class as the student who first forced him into the fights.

Student A's family said the penalties were too lenient and plans to file an administrative appeal against the committee's decision. The family has also filed a police complaint against the perpetrators on assault charges. Two of the perpetrators are juveniles under criminal age and are being investigated as witnesses rather than suspects.


betterj@heraldcorp.com