She wrote that although there have been no cases where a developmentally disabled person murdered a child so far in Korea, the welfare center where Lee is taken care of and Saha-gu Office, the jurisdiction responsible for the center, have been silent on the matter. (image: Korea Bizwire / Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – A mother whose son was killed by a teen with a developmental disability posted a story about the murder online, in hopes of bringing just closure to the case without delay.
In December 2014, Lee, a nineteen year old with a developmental disability in the most severe category by the Korean official welfare system, threw the son from the third floor of a building in Saha-gu, Busan. The boy died from a severe head injury after five hours of hospital treatment. The mother wrote that even one month after the incident, there haven’t been any developments in the case, nor has she received an apology or any comment whatsoever from the assailant and his guardians.
According to her story, the mother saw her own son taken away from her by Lee, and thrown down the emergency staircase of the building where her six-year-old child was being treated with psychological therapy. She saw the attacker open the door to the emergency stairs while grabbing the hands of the victim, and although she tried to stop him, she failed due to his big physique.
She wrote that although there have been no cases where a developmentally disabled person murdered a child so far in Korea, the welfare center where Lee is taken care of and Saha-gu Office, the jurisdiction responsible for the center, have been silent on the matter. Lee’s parents, his helper and officials from his school have never made any apologies. She demanded to know why the welfare center had neglected Lee and left him free to wander around, and whether his parents and his helper were in any way responsible for his behavior.
She also wrote that she feels like everyone related to the case is only waiting for closure as Lee assumes all responsibility. However, being involved in such a complex crime where the culprit is developmentally disabled, she spoke of her bewilderment in not knowing whom to turn to for help.
She wrote that she does not want the tragedy to repeat itself, and she pleaded for help in preventing the same case from ever happening again. Her story is currently drawing large attention on SNS.
Lee is currently standing trial. Saha-gu Office said that Lee’s helper and the concerned individuals from the welfare center would be targeted for investigation if needed.
By J. W. Choi (summerchoi@koreabizwire.com)
