A student’s father publicly denounced school authorities for failing to take proper disciplinary action against the student he believes “assaulted” his son with a sharpened pencil.

According to the Incheon Office of Education on Thursday, a second-grader in Namdong-gu, Incheon, came back to his seat after finishing a presentation when a pencil set up upright by a peer impaled his tail bone on June 14. The classmate claimed the whole incident was intended to be a joke.

The pencil reportedly pierced through the student’s pants, leaving the graphite core stuck inside his skin. The student had to undergo a minor surgical procedure and received a number of stitches, according to reports. 



The Committee for Countermeasures against School Violence held a disciplinary hearing on July 3 and compelled the assailant to apologize and serve five hours of community service.

After hearing the results of the committee, the father on Wednesday shared his frustration online and called for more severe punishment by reopening the hearing.

“My child (still) cannot sit down on the toilet seat. And, the committee only slaps him on the wrist. The school is trying to make this sound like a mere joke between peers,” he wrote.

The Ministry of Education said it would wait for the results of a second disciplinary hearing before moving to assess the case.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)