'Sokcho Field Trip Death Accident' Leading Teacher Guilty... "Teachers, Educational Activities Shrink"

Chuncheon District Court Sentences Teacher to Six Months in Prison, Two Years Probation
"Claimed Bus Driver Was at Fault... Showed No Remorse"

In November 2022, a homeroom teacher was found guilty in connection with an incident where an elementary school student was fatally struck by a bus while on a field trip at a theme park in Sokcho, Gangwon Province.

According to Yonhap News on the 11th, Judge Shin Dong-il of the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 sentenced homeroom teacher A, who was charged with professional negligence resulting in death, to six months in prison with a two-year probation. Although A denied all charges, the court ruled that A violated the duty of care by leading the student group from the front and only looking back once at the beginning.

On January 21, members of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, the KFTA 2030 Youth Committee, and the Gangwon-do Federation of Teachers' Associations held a press conference in front of the Chuncheon District Court, appealing for leniency for teachers who are on trial for professional negligence causing death in connection with the student fatality that occurred during an elementary school field trip at a theme park in Sokcho-si, Gangwon, in November 2022. Yonhap News

Judge Shin stated, "Even when five students, including the victim, left the group and were at a considerable distance, the teacher failed to notice. Despite leading from the front, the teacher did not frequently look back to check if any students had left the group. Although it was foreseeable that the temporarily stopped bus would move to park properly, the teacher did not pay attention to lead the students safely nor ask the assistant teacher to watch from the rear."

Regarding sentencing, the judge said, "As the lead teacher, A had a duty to ensure the victim could move safely within the field trip site but failed to look back, allowing the student to leave the group. The bus moving to park then struck the student, causing death. A claimed all negligence was the bus driver's fault and showed no sincere remorse."

Assistant teacher B, who was also tried on the same charges, was acquitted as the court found it difficult to impose a duty of care to anticipate traffic accident risks without being clearly assigned student safety management duties.

Bus driver C, who admitted to failing to properly check the front and sides before moving the bus and causing the student's death, was sentenced to two years in prison. However, Judge Shin did not order detention in court, considering C's sincere attendance at the trial sessions.

At a press conference related to the sentencing of the teacher in charge of the field trip accident held in front of the Chuncheon District Court in Gangwon on the 11th, Kang Ju-ho, president of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, expressed regret toward the court that found the teacher in charge of the experiential learning accident guilty in the trial that day. Photo by Yonhap News

The accident occurred on November 11, 2022, at a theme park in Sokcho. The victim, a sixth-grade elementary school student at the time, was struck and killed by a moving bus after getting off for the field trip. Immediately after the accident, the victim's father appealed, saying, "The incident happened during school hours, and the assistant teacher, homeroom teacher, and vice principal followed to ensure safety. Please deliver a verdict so that our child is not wronged."

After the teachers involved were indicted, teachers nationwide petitioned for leniency, and concerns over safety incidents led to avoidance of field trips, causing conflicts among teachers, students, and parents.

Fifteen nationwide teacher organizations, including the Gangwon Teachers' Union and the Elementary School Teachers' Union, submitted petitions demanding acquittals, stating, "If teachers are held fully responsible and legally punished even when accidents occur without their negligence or carelessness, there will be no place for teachers to stand."