Teacher Sent 'Underwear Fashion Show' Video via KakaoTalk to High School Girl

Suspension Revoked After Winning Lawsuit
Court: "Does Not Constitute Obscene Material"

A teacher who was suspended after sending a lingerie fashion show video to a student won an administrative lawsuit against the superintendent of education.

On the 4th, the Administrative Division 1-3 of Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Go Seung-il) announced that it ruled in favor of teacher A in the lawsuit filed against the superintendent of Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education to cancel the suspension order. The court ordered the cancellation of the suspension imposed on A in December 2021 and instructed the superintendent of Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education to bear all litigation costs.

The incident began in November 2021 when A sent a video via KakaoTalk to female high school student B showing female models wearing lingerie-focused outfits walking in a fashion show while pop singer Rihanna was performing.

The sent video contained scenes of female models wearing lingerie-focused outfits in a fashion show. One month later, in December, B filed a complaint against A for obscenity using a communication medium under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

A teacher who was suspended after sending a "lingerie fashion show" video to a female high school student won an administrative lawsuit against the superintendent. Photo by unrelated to the article content.

B stated, "I did ask the teacher to send a video of the singer's song, but I never asked for a lingerie fashion show video," and added, "I don't think the video the teacher sent was appropriate for a student."

The police immediately launched an investigation, and the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education suspended A in accordance with the Educational Officials Act. A filed an appeal against this decision, but it was dismissed.

The police found it difficult to apply the charge of obscenity using a communication medium to A and only sent the case to the prosecution on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Act. However, the prosecution decided not to indict due to insufficient evidence, citing reasons such as the models in the video not being excessively exposed and no specific body parts being emphasized.

After being cleared by the prosecution, A filed an administrative lawsuit in June 2022 against the superintendent of Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education who had imposed the suspension. In court, A argued, "They suspended me solely because an investigation started, without making efforts to secure objective evidence," and claimed, "The suspension was illegal as it exceeded or abused discretionary power."

The court also judged that it was difficult to recognize A’s misconduct as serious enough at the time of suspension to make normal work performance unlikely.

The court explained, "The video has 49 million views on YouTube and is easily searchable," and "It does not appear to be a video restricted from minors."

It added, "The video, which combines the singer’s performance and a fashion show, does not qualify as obscene material," and concluded, "The suspension without valid grounds is illegal and must be canceled."