"Why Did You Get It Wrong?" Father Punished 6-Year-Old Daughter Until Bruised... Supreme Court Rules "Child Abuse"

Court: "Corporal punishment was not inevitable due to difficulty with other educational methods"

The Supreme Court has ruled that a father's act of hitting his six-year-old daughter's palm and thigh with a back scratcher until bruised because she could not solve a problem correctly constitutes child abuse.

Supreme Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) announced on the 1st that it upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced Mr. A to a fine of 1 million won for violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse).

Mr. A was summarily indicted on charges of hitting his six-year-old daughter with a back scratcher until bruised because she got a problem wrong while studying the clock in 2021. Mr. A claimed, "The corporal punishment with the back scratcher was only for disciplining the child, not because she got the problem wrong, and I did not intend to cause bruises, so there was no intent of child abuse." However, the prosecution viewed the punishment as exceeding the bounds of normal discipline. Mr. A filed a formal trial in objection to the court's summary order.

However, the first and second trials stated, "It does not appear that corporal punishment was unavoidable due to the lack of other educational means to discipline the daughter. It is recognized that the defendant physically and emotionally abused his daughter, and the punishment cannot be seen as a disciplinary method accepted by social norms," sentencing Mr. A to a fine of 1 million won. The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts' judgment.