Fined for Child Abuse After Scolding Female Student for Secretly Drinking Alcohol at Karaoke

Detention for 2 Hours and Demand for Statement Writing Charges
Court: "200,000 Won Fine and 1-Year Probation"

A 50-year-old business owner who forced teenage female students to kneel and threatened to report them to the police after catching them secretly drinking alcohol at his karaoke room was sentenced to a fine on charges of child abuse.

On the 10th, Judge Na Sang-ah of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 10 sentenced A (51), the karaoke room owner, to a fine of 2 million won with a one-year suspended sentence on charges of child abuse and confinement in violation of the Child Welfare Act.

A coin karaoke room in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Stock photo unrelated to the article content. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the afternoon of July 15 last year, A discovered 15- to 16-year-old female students secretly bringing in and drinking alcohol at his karaoke room in Gwangju. Under the pretext of disciplining them, he confined B and four others for two hours, preventing them from going home, forced them to kneel, and demanded they write statements, leading to charges of child abuse.

When B and the others tried to leave the karaoke room, A blocked their way, saying, "Go back inside," and told them, "Write a statement including your name, contact information, your parents' contact information, and the school you attend. If you don't write it, I will report you to the police."

During the trial, A claimed, "It was a form of discipline for their wrongdoing," and insisted, "It was not emotional abuse, nor did I intend to confine them."

On the other hand, the prosecution viewed A’s actions as confinement and threats that caused fear to the minor B and her group, constituting emotional abuse.

The court did not accept A’s claims. It considered that A blocked one victim who was trying to leave and shouted at the victims, and that the minors, caught drinking in a karaoke room where alcohol is prohibited, were in a situation where they had no choice but to comply with A’s demands out of fear.

Judge Na stated, "A’s control over B and her group’s actions, resulting in their inability to leave the karaoke room for about two hours, constitutes the crime of confinement," and added, "Even if the purpose was to discipline, it was a coercive act that disregarded the victims’ will and emotions, exceeding the scope of legitimate discipline."

However, the judge also noted, "Considering that A admitted the facts themselves, that the incident was triggered by B and her group secretly bringing alcohol into the karaoke room where drinking is prohibited, and that there was some intention to discipline, these factors were taken into account in sentencing."

Meanwhile, on March 24 last year, a man in his 60s who hit the back of the heads of two high school students smoking cigarettes in school uniforms while passing in front of a convenience store in Seongnam-dong, Dong-gu, Daejeon, was fined 700,000 won.

The man in his 60s claimed, "I intended to discipline the underage students for smoking, and the students also kicked over my bicycle," but the court said, "There is no reason to use violence for discipline according to social norms. It is acknowledged that the students knocked over A’s bicycle and clenched their fists in response to the assault, but it did not lead to actual violence."