Lee Sujeong "Daegu Female Teacher Case, Sexual Crime Punishment May Be Difficult"

"Possibility of Punishment for Obstruction of Business Including Grade Manipulation"

Professor Lee Su-jeong, Department of Criminal Psychology, Kyonggi University [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Woo-seok] As the police have launched an investigation following a report that a contract teacher A at a high school in Daegu had an inappropriate relationship with a high school student B, Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University predicted that "it may be difficult to punish this as a sex crime."

Professor Lee appeared on KBS's "Crystal Mind" on the 26th and said, "The Child Welfare Act imposes the severest penalties for sexual abuse," but added, "Unless the Child Welfare Act, which protects minors up to the age of 18, is applied, it is difficult to punish this as a sex crime." Under the Child Welfare Act, sexually exploiting a child can result in imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 100 million won.

She added, "Looking at court precedents, the Child Welfare Act is not often applied."

However, Professor Lee judged that A could be punished for obstruction of business due to grade manipulation. She said, "Since the performance evaluation scores have a large weight in the school record, it seems that influence was exerted based on that to proceed to sexual relations," and added, "(If A manipulated grades as a reward for the relationship,) obstruction of business, punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won, can be applied."

The police are currently investigating the obstruction of business charge, considering that A may have been involved in manipulating B's grades.

Professor Lee said, "(This case) involves a female teacher and a male student. If it had been a male teacher and a female student, it would typically be treated as a sex crime."

She continued, "The criteria for sex crimes are violence and threats, and in cases of forced sexual relations, there is no room for debate on the establishment of a crime," emphasizing, "Next is statutory rape, where even consensual sexual relations require protection of the young victim."

She also defined this case as a "grooming crime." Grooming sex crimes refer to offenses where the perpetrator forms a close relationship with the victim and psychologically dominates them before committing the crime.

Professor Lee said, "Grooming sex offenders generally have personality disorders," and added, "They treat the other party not as someone to trust but merely as a tool to satisfy their desires."

She further stated, "Morally, there is a high possibility of blame, but the problem is that current laws do not apply because there is no violence or threats, so it does not qualify as rape," adding, "That is why there is a statutory rape age limit to prevent such acts when the victim is young."