Request to Hire Acquaintance Sex Education Instructor After Incident
Joo's Child Attends Integrated Class After Sex Education Session
Webtoon artist Joo Ho-min and his wife requested that a sex education instructor they knew be arranged to visit the school their son attends, amid growing controversy over alleged infringement of teacher's authority during the process of suing a special education teacher at an elementary school for abusing their son with developmental disabilities.
On the 29th, an online petition request letter written by the special education teacher, who was accused of child abuse while guiding Joo Ho-min's son, was made public.
The special education teacher explained, "On September 5th last year, Joo Ho-min's autistic son pulled down his pants in front of a girl during an integrated class, causing the girl to suffer severe psychological shock and express fear of coming to school, requesting separation due to 'school violence'."
She continued, "On the 15th, through the individualized education support team meeting, we arranged solutions such as adjusting integrated class time and sex education. On the 19th, I was informed by the homeroom teacher during a call with the student's parents that signs of child abuse were detected (a voice recorder was sent in a bag). On the 21st, I learned of the lawsuit through police notification."
The special education teacher stated, "I proposed that the time when (Joo Ho-min's son) could resume integrated class would be after sex education was conducted, and it was decided to proceed with sex education for all students. I coordinated with the external instructor for this as well." She added, "During this sex education, the parents requested that the instructor be someone they knew, so only the second-grade students, which is the grade of Joo Ho-min's son, were arranged to receive sex education from the instructor preferred by the student's parents."
After this information became known, many netizens expressed outrage, saying, "Did the victim receive sex education from the instructor requested by the perpetrator's parents?" and "Is it reasonable for the perpetrator's parents to be involved in selecting the instructor?"
Earlier, when it was revealed that Joo had reported the special education teacher who taught his son with autism spectrum disorder on suspicion of child abuse in September last year, sparking controversy, he released a statement. On the 26th, Joo stated on his SNS account, "The recording (of the class time) contained situations that are hard to see as simple discipline," and added, "Emotional child abuse is difficult for the education office to judge and replace the teacher on its own, and action can only be taken based on the results of judicial investigation, so we requested an investigation."
Joo's son was separated into a special class after exposing part of his body in front of a female student during class in September last year.
The teacher was suspended from duty, and the trial has been ongoing since December last year. Fellow teachers and parents have submitted a petition to the court requesting leniency so that the teacher can return to the classroom.
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