Court: "Figurative Expression... Not Intentional Abuse"
A teacher who was prosecuted for verbally abusing elementary school students by calling them "primitive people" was acquitted. The court ruled that although some of the teacher's actions were excessive, they could not be considered intentional abuse.
The Ulsan District Court, Criminal Division 2 (Judge Hwang Hyung-joo), announced on the 21st that it had acquitted Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.
Mr. A, a teacher at an elementary school in the Ulsan area, was charged with emotionally abusing students 15 times between March and August 2021 during class by saying things like, "Writing like this is what primitive people do," and "If you can't solve this, you have a primitive brain." However, the court judged that Mr. A's remarks were metaphorical expressions and thus difficult to regard as abusive. Other remarks were also seen as disciplinary actions intended to correct students' problematic behavior.
The court stated, "The defendant appears to have communicated sufficiently with parents and has been passionately guiding the students." It further explained the reason for the acquittal, saying, "Even if some disciplinary actions were educationally inappropriate or somewhat excessive, it cannot be judged that the defendant intentionally emotionally abused the children."
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