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| The National Human Rights Commission of Korea / Korea Times file |
"We concluded that we need to look thoroughly into whether the school and the regional education office took proper initial measures in the case, whether the school's disciplinary process for student violence was appropriate, as well as into allegations that the police did not take proper measures during the investigation and failed to protect the victim," the commission said in a press release
The commission continued, "A minor's rights and interests must be protected under all circumstances, regardless of nationality. So if any human rights violations are confirmed during the investigation, we'll discuss measures to prevent similar cases from recurring."
It was presented to the commission earlier this month that four Korean female middle school students assaulted a classmate from Mongolia in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in July. The incident became widely known as a video of the assault went viral when the assaulters allegedly distributed it among their fellow students.
They four girls allegedly tied the victim's hands and legs and beat her head and slapped her face repeatedly over the course of six hours. They also wrote a racist message on her forehead. The victim moved to Korea more than 10 years ago with her parents.
A petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for stern punishment of the four offenders, and it has garnered over 220,000 signatures as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.
