[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that submitting a false volunteer activity certificate to a school to receive a volunteer award can be punishable as obstruction of school duties.
On the 18th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Park Sang-ok) announced that in the appeal trial of two defendants, including Mr. A, who were charged with obstruction of business, it partially overturned the lower court's verdict of partial acquittal to partial conviction and remanded the case to the Seoul Central District Court.
Mr. A was on trial for allegedly having a falsely written volunteer activity certificate issued, making it appear that Mr. B's child had volunteered at a hospital. Mr. B submitted this certificate to the school, and the school awarded the volunteer prize to Mr. B's child.
The first trial court found Mr. A and Mr. B guilty of obstructing the school's volunteer award selection process, but the second trial court acquitted them. The second court judged that the school also bore responsibility, stating that the school gave the volunteer award to Mr. B's child as a result of "lightly trusting and accepting the fake volunteer activity certificate."
The Supreme Court's judgment differed. The court focused on the fact that the school's volunteer award screening is generally based on the premise that the contents of the volunteer activity certificate are truthful. It regarded the submission of a false certificate as an act that could obstruct the school's volunteer award selection duties. The court stated, "Considering the volunteer award screening procedure, it is difficult to conclude that the school has an obligation to separately inquire with the issuing institution to verify the authenticity of the contents."
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