A petition calling for the punishment of five teenagers who allegedly assaulted a 13-year-old in Suwon has garnered over 200,000 signatures.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, more than 210,000 people had signed the online petition posted Monday on the Cheong Wa Dae website, urging for the punishment of the five girls, who are accused of beating the teenager in a karaoke room in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. 

As more than 200,000 signatures have been collected, the Blue House is required to issue an official response within a month after the petition closes Oct. 23.

Under the law, minors under the age of 14 are exempt from criminal liability.

“A video showing several teenagers, presumed to be born in 2006, assaulting another female student is on social media right now, and the victim seems to be bleeding badly (in the video),” the petition read.

“The students must be heavily punished to make them recognize the gravity of their crime that violated the victim’s human rights,” it added.

Suwon Seobu Police Station said Tuesday the five teenagers who attacked the victim on Saturday afternoon were apprehended Monday and sent to a juvenile classification office that day. The office serves as a detention center for juvenile delinquents.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)