SEOUL, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Friday he "feels remorse" for out-of-control violence and bullying in schools, officials said.
When a middle-school student took his own life last month, saying in a note classmates had harshly bullied him for months, alarms went off in the educational community.
Lee told a group of school superintendents, "I think we don't seem to have much understanding of the world of our children, while focusing on the entrance examination system and costs of private education," Yonhap News Agency reported. "I feel remorse as a president," he added.
Education Ministry and law enforcement officials have pledged to combat bullying by collecting information on bullies and protecting victims.
Yonhap said South Korea's well-known obsession with education results in an overly competitive society, which takes a social and economic toll on citizens.
