Overview

• At a Daejeon District Court hearing on Monday, prosecutors pressed for the maximum sentence, calling the killing premeditated and citing the family's request for severe punishment.
• Investigators say the teacher lured the first grader into an audiovisual room after an after-school program and fatally stabbed the child with a knife purchased in advance.
• In a final statement, the defendant apologized to the bereaved family and said her judgment had weakened during mental health treatment.
• A psychiatric evaluation requested by the defendant found a diminished mental and physical state, a conclusion prosecutors dispute by pointing to her early return from medical leave and alleged deliberate preparations.
• The defendant has submitted 86 handwritten remorse letters to the court; prosecutors argue she showed no genuine remorse during the probe, and she also faces charges of assaulting a colleague and damaging school property, with her teaching credentials revoked in April.