Teacher Who Grabbed Student by the Neck and Sent Them Out in Anger Loses Lawsuit Challenging Dismissal

Court: "Dismissal Is Not an Excessive Disciplinary Action"

An elementary school teacher who grabbed a student's neck and sent the child out of the classroom to be left alone was dismissed, but lost a lawsuit challenging the disciplinary action.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Pixabay

According to the legal community on January 8, the Administrative Division 1 of the Ulsan District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Yunjik) dismissed the lawsuit filed by Mr. A seeking to overturn the dismissal.

In 2023, while working as an elementary school teacher, Mr. A was teaching a lower grade class when a student threw a cup at a tower built by other students, causing it to collapse. Angered by this, Mr. A shouted at the student, grabbed the back of the student's neck, and dragged the student out into the hallway, almost throwing the student out. The student was then left alone in the hallway for about 20 minutes until the end of the class.

At the time, it was found that Mr. A had already been undergoing disciplinary procedures for two similar cases of child abuse, yet repeated the same behavior.

Mr. A was prosecuted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, was found guilty, and was sentenced to a fine. The Ulsan Office of Education regarded this as a violation of the duty to maintain dignity as stipulated in the National Public Service Act and imposed the disciplinary measure of dismissal.

Mr. A filed a lawsuit claiming that dismissal was an excessive penalty.

However, the court determined that the Office of Education did not abuse its authority or impose an excessively harsh disciplinary measure. The court found that Mr. A's actions did not constitute guidance intended to educate the student's character or encourage participation in educational activities. Furthermore, from the perspective of an average teacher, the court concluded that Mr. A violated the duty not to undermine the trust of the entire teaching profession as an educator.

The court explained its decision to dismiss the lawsuit by stating, "Abusive acts committed by an elementary school teacher against children under their care are subject to aggravated punishment, and the law prohibits mitigation of disciplinary action. Therefore, the dismissal cannot be considered unreasonable by social standards."