An 11-year-old girl who grew up in a church and became a "school-aged child" outside of school died five months later.

An 11-year-old boy, who grew up in a church in Chungcheongnam-do's city of Cheonan, left the world five months after he was declared an "outsider to compulsory education." The child, who had intellectual disabilities, lived in the home of his grandmother, who often looked after him. He received an exemption from mandatory schooling due to his intellectual disability, becoming an "outsider to compulsory education."

However, he was never considered a compulsory education target in the first place. The boy started his first year of elementary school in 2021 and completed year two, but the second semester was reduced due to insufficient class hours, leading to partial payment. In the following year, he transferred to a new school, where he was placed in a regular class only after the school requested special education teachers to be assigned.

The child struggled socially and often ran away from the school, refusing to attend special education classes. After only a few weeks of being hospitalized due to mental health issues, he was no longer receiving any special education. The boy's grandmother requested an exemption from mandatory schooling when she learned that he was no longer considered a compulsory education target, and her request was approved, marking him as an "outsider to compulsory education" on March 1st of this year.

He then began homeschooling at the church. Living outside the boundaries of formal education, the boy was unable to receive the necessary care and protection, and five months later, he left the world. Police arrested a 60-year-old pastor, a 50-year-old woman who was the boy's grandmother, and another adult who lived with them at the church on suspicion of child abuse.

They allegedly kept the boy locked up for up to 38 hours. The boy escaped the church on February 2nd and 3rd and reported to authorities that his grandmother was abusing him. However, due to the decision of the protective institution, he was sent back to the church and tragically took his own life on June 6th at 0:02 AM.