Elementary Student "Lie Face Down"... Physical Education Coach Who Hit with Baseball Bat Receives Suspended Sentence

Ulsan District Court Sentences 1 Year Imprisonment with 2 Years Probation
Law: "Corporal Punishment Needed but Baseball Bat Assault Not Allowed"

An elementary school physical education coach who assaulted an elementary school student he was teaching with a baseball bat for playing pranks during class was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

The Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Judge Lee Jae-wook) announced on the 14th that it sentenced a man in his 40s, Mr. A, who was tried on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. Mr. A was also ordered to attend 40 hours of child abuse recidivism prevention lectures and was banned from working at child-related institutions for two years.

Mr. A, a physical education coach at an elementary school in Ulsan, struck student B twice on the buttocks with an aluminum baseball bat after forcing him to lie face down with a punch during training in June 2022 when B was playing pranks with a friend during class. As a result, B suffered injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment. Previously, in 2021, Mr. A was accused of assaulting 9- to 11-year-old students eight times over six months, hitting their heads and thighs with a plastic rod because they did not properly participate in class or follow his instructions. Among them was a 9-year-old student who was hit about 20 times on the thigh.

The court stated, "The defendant works at an elementary school and is obligated to report child abuse crimes, but instead physically and mentally abused children, so he must be held more strictly accountable." It added, "Even if he was alone instructing students and believed discipline was necessary, assaulting them with a baseball bat and other means is unacceptable." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "The sentence considered the defendant’s partial admission of the crime and remorse, his resignation from the school, and the criminal deposit made."

Meanwhile, recently at the Ulsan District Court, an elementary school teacher was also sentenced to a suspended prison term for child abuse after grabbing a 9-year-old student by the collar. On the 1st, the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 3 sentenced a teacher in his 50s, Mr. B, who was tried on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension. Mr. B was also banned from working at child-related institutions for two years.

Mr. B, a physical education teacher at an elementary school in Ulsan, saw a student throwing a stone during a fight with another student on the school playground in the second semester of 2022. When he tried to stop the student and was talked back to, Mr. B, angered, grabbed the student by the collar, dragged him to the classroom, and kicked a chair. The court judged that even if the student’s attitude was problematic, Mr. B’s actions exceeded the scope of discipline and sentenced him to prison.