Childcare Center Director Who Deleted CCTV Suspected of 'Child Abuse'... Supreme Court Rules "Cannot Punish"

Conflicting Rulings in 1st and 2nd Trials on the 'Young Child Care Act'... 1st Trial Acquits → 2nd Trial Imposes 5 Million Won Fine
Court: "Punishment Clause for 'Person Whose Video Information Was Damaged' Must Be Interpreted Literally"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the director of a daycare center who deleted CCTV footage suspected of child abuse cannot be punished.

Applying the "Infant Care Act," which stipulates the obligation to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of CCTV footage installed by daycare operators to prevent loss or damage, it was determined that a person who damages the footage themselves cannot be punished. The Infant Care Act only imposes fines on those who violate the obligation to install and manage CCTV, and does not have explicit provisions to punish those who damage the footage.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) announced on the 6th that it overturned the lower court's ruling that sentenced daycare center director A to a fine of 5 million won for violating the Infant Care Act and remanded the case to the Ulsan District Court.

A was prosecuted on charges of deleting video recordings after receiving a request from the parents of a student (then 5 years old) in 2017 to show the CCTV footage, suspecting that the homeroom teacher had neglected the child, fearing the cancellation of the public daycare center designation.

The first trial court acquitted A, stating, "The Infant Care Act should be interpreted as punishing daycare operators who suffer damage to video information due to negligence, but it does not apply when the operator damages or loses the video information themselves."

On the other hand, the second trial court interpreted "the person whose video information was damaged" as "a person who failed or did not prevent the video information from being damaged," and sentenced A to a fine of 5 million won.

However, the Supreme Court viewed the second trial's judgment as an expansive interpretation of the Infant Care Act provisions. The court stated, "The term 'the person who was subjected to' means someone who suffers harm caused by another's act and does not include a person who performed the act themselves," adding, "Interpreting the daycare center operator who directly damaged the closed-circuit video information as 'the person whose video information was damaged' goes beyond the possible scope of the wording."