Bullying scandals cast spotlight on school violence in South Korea

SEOUL - The director of a drama series exposing the brutality of school violence was found to have bullied fellow schoolmates in the past. A contestant in a reality TV show to find the strongest and fittest person was accused of being a bully in middle school. And a newly appointed police investigation chief resigned after it was revealed that he defended his son’s bullying behaviour in school.

These are among bullying scandals that have rocked South Korea recently, as concern grew over an expected increase in school violence to pre-Covid-19 levels of some 30,000 cases a year.