Five Teacher Organizations Submit Joint Signature Petition and Appeal Letter to the Court
Teacher organizations collected signatures from over 35,000 teachers urging the appellate court to acquit a special education teacher accused of emotional child abuse against webtoon artist Joo Ho-min's son.
The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, the Teachers' Labor Union Federation, the Practical Education Teachers' Association, and the New School Network announced on the morning of the 12th that they submitted signatures from 35,371 teachers nationwide from kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools to the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judges Kim Eun-jung, Shin Woo-jung, Yoo Jae-kwang), urging an acquittal for special education teacher A, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (aggravated punishment for child abuse by workers in child welfare facilities).
In a petition submitted along with the joint signature sheet, the teacher organizations stated, "Classrooms are turning into venues for illegal recordings," and added, "In a reality where some remarks made during class can make one a child abuse criminal, many teachers are giving up on behavioral guidance out of fear that educational activities and guidance could be considered criminal acts at any time."
They continued, "We ask for a thorough re-examination of the ambiguity surrounding emotional child abuse," and said, "The original intent has been distorted and misused, being referred to as 'offense of hurt feelings,' tying teachers' hands and feet so they can do nothing."
Furthermore, the organizations stated, "In the first trial, the prosecution demanded a 10-month prison sentence for the teacher, which is a sentence typically given to drug users, fraudsters involved in multi-million won scams, prostitution brokers, and perpetrators of special assault crimes," and added, "Teachers are deeply saddened and self-critical that their words and actions were compared to such criminal acts simply because the guardian was displeased."
The organizations also argued that the evidentiary validity of the recorded statements by A, which were recognized in the first trial, should not be accepted. They pointed out that since the Supreme Court ruled in January that recordings made by a parent during class are inadmissible as evidence based on the Communications Privacy Protection Act, this precedent should be taken into account.
A is accused of making remarks such as "You're really annoying" and "I hate you to death. I hate you too" to Joo's son during class on September 13, 2022. These remarks were reportedly secretly recorded by Joo's wife, who placed a recording device in their son's coat. Based on the recorded remarks, Joo's side filed a child abuse complaint against A. A received a suspended sentence with a fine of 2 million won in the first trial in February and immediately appealed.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
