Middle School Teacher Showing Exposure and Mirroring 'Gender Equality Films' Loses Appeal

Court: "3-Month Suspension Discipline Is Justified"

A teacher who screened a gender equality film including exposure and mirroring during middle school classes filed a lawsuit against a three-month suspension but lost again in the appellate court.

The Gwangju District Court Administrative Division 1 (Chief Judge Yang Young-hee) announced on the 16th that it dismissed the appeal of teacher Bae Isangheon in the appeal trial of the suspension cancellation lawsuit filed against the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.

Teacher Bae, who taught ethics at a middle school in Gwangju from July 2018 to May 2019, screened a 10-minute French short film titled "Majorite Opprimee" as part of a sex ethics class.

The film used the 'mirroring' technique, which reverses traditional gender roles, showing women walking the streets with their upper bodies exposed or women attempting sexual assault on men. It assumed a matriarchal society to reflect on the patriarchal society. Women on the street catcall men, saying, "I wag my tail in front of your eyes. You look cheap." A group of women who get into a quarrel with a man drag him into an alley and sexually assault him. The man goes to report to the police, but a female police officer tells him, "Don't be so sensitive," and his wife initially comforts him but then scolds him, saying, "If you dressed like that, you shouldn't complain even if this happens."

Students who felt sexual disgust after watching the film filed complaints, and the school requested exclusion and separation measures from the class and referred the matter to the police for investigation. The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education imposed a heavy disciplinary action of a three-month suspension on teacher Bae around December 2020.

Teacher Bae filed an administrative lawsuit, arguing, "The content and method of the class are the teacher's inherent authority, and even if there is a problem with the content, it should only be subject to supervisory guidance and cannot be grounds for disciplinary action." However, after losing in the first trial, he appealed.

The appellate court stated, "The video screened by the plaintiff can be seen as a work that effectively conveys problems by allowing gender discrimination to be recognized from the perspective of the opposite gender. The purpose of screening it during ethics class is also understandable," but pointed out, "The video contains provocative scenes and subtitles that students may find difficult to handle with their typical peer experiences and emotions, so the plaintiff's efforts to reduce the shock to students were essential."

"Even if there was no motivation or intention for the plaintiff's sexual satisfaction, from the students' perspective, it is an act that can sufficiently cause sexual humiliation or disgust and falls under the category of sexual harassment in a social sense," and "The public interest achieved through disciplinary action to eradicate sexual harassment by faculty members against students is not considered small compared to the plaintiff's disadvantage in status," thus upholding the first trial's decision.

At the time of the first trial, France's largest secondary teachers' union SNES-FSU issued a statement expressing support and solidarity with teacher Bae. They said, "Gender equality is achieved through civic education and universal values such as tolerance, democracy, freedom, and equality," and "Education plays a crucial role in defending gender equality in society."