30s Academy Director Cleared of Child Abuse Charges in Second Trial: "Life Collapsed After Closure"

Guilty in First Trial... Acquitted on Appeal
"I Wanted to Restore My Honor Despite the Hardship"

A 30-year-old academy director who went to court over allegations of child abuse by academy students was acquitted in the appellate trial.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Shim Hyun-geun) recently overturned the original guilty verdict against former academy director A (36), who was charged with child abuse under the Child Welfare Act, and acquitted him.

Chuncheon District Court Photo by Yonhap News

A, who ran an academy in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, was put on trial for emotionally abusing two teenage students, including a sister pair, B, by shouting "You're noisy" and forcing them to lie face down or hitting their heads with rolled-up books for not understanding math concepts during November to December 2020. A’s side claimed innocence, stating, "We did not hit the students or force them to lie face down." However, the first trial at the Yeongwol Branch of Chuncheon District Court rejected A’s claims, stating, "The students who claimed to be victims have testified specifically and consistently from the investigation stage to the courtroom."

In the appellate trial, A and the prosecution disputed the credibility of the victim students’ claims and whether A’s words and actions could be considered emotional abuse. The appellate court focused on the fact that despite continued investigations, no other students witnessed A’s child abuse acts in the academy’s classrooms or study rooms. It also found the credibility of the testimonies lacking due to the absence of key abuse details in the initial statements and the lack of specificity in the testimonies.

The court further ruled that even if the victim students’ claims that A flicked their ears or hit them with a toy hammer were true, those acts alone did not constitute emotional abuse. However, regarding the charge of defamation for posting documents related to the case containing the real names of the victim students’ parents on social media, the court upheld the first trial’s guilty verdict and imposed a fine of 1 million won.

After two years of legal battles, A barely cleared the charges but had already closed the academy and undergone psychiatric treatment. He told Yonhap News, "I devoted everything solely to sincerely teaching the students, but my life was already shattered." It was reported that A had returned to his hometown Taebaek after a long stay abroad and opened the academy.

He confessed, "Even before the investigation began, a local media outlet labeled me as a child abuser, leaving me no chance to defend myself. Although I was wronged, after the first trial verdict, I had to close the academy. Going through this ordeal, I had to drink until I lost consciousness just to fall asleep and eventually received psychiatric treatment." He added, "Since I have never considered any other profession besides being a teacher, I want to restore my honor even if it is difficult, as long as I can maintain a minimum livelihood."