10 February 2025 , 20:47
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A female teacher has been arrested after stabbing an eight-year-old student to death at a primary school in South Korea, according to reports.
The seven-year-old victim was rushed to hospital with stab wounds on her face and neck after she was found suffering from cardiac arrest at a school in the central city of Daejeon on Monday evening, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Medics attempted to save her, but she slipped into an unconscious state, and later died, stated the report.
The teacher was found with stab wounds on her neck and arm, which officials speculated could be self-inflicted, and was also hospitalised. She later confessed to the crime.
The girl died of stab wounds to the face and neck (Picture: AFP)
Police found that the teacher had taken a leave of absence due to depression and returned to the school late last year.
The child was attending an after-school child child care class while waiting to head to an private art class, Yonhap reports.
The teacher and the girl were found by police at around 6:00 pm (0900 GMT) after the child’s parents reported her missing from the art class.
The teacher underwent surgery for her wounds, and police said they would resume questioning her later.
South Korea is generally considered to be a safe country, with a homicide rate well below the global average.
However, violent crime has seen a surge in activity over the past year, with a string of high-profile stabbings reported in recent years,
In August 2023, a high school teacher was reportedly attacked with a knife, also in Daejeon, around 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of the capital Seoul.
In the same week, an attacker drove a car into a pedestrian walkway in the city of Bundang, near Seoul, before attacking people at a department store with a knife.
And in July 2023, a person was killed and three wounded in another stabbing in Seoul.