Teacher Who Forced Students into a "Human Train" for Punishment, in the End...

Changwon District Prosecutors' Office indicts teacher without detention on charges including child abuse and assault

A homeroom teacher at a private high school in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has been brought to trial on charges of repeatedly assaulting and abusing a student over several months.

According to the legal community and education authorities on the 20th, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted teacher A from the school without detention on January 15 on charges including child abuse and assault. The indictment is said to list a total of 15 counts, including child abuse and assault.

Prosecutors' flag installed at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in Seongsan-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam. Yonhap News

According to prosecutors, he routinely subjected students to harsh punishments such as a form of corporal punishment known as the "human train," in which students had to place their feet on the shoulders of the person in front and hold the position, allegedly for reasons such as failing to submit homework. He was also found to have inflicted physical abuse by forcefully striking students in the abdomen and thighs with his fists and knees.

When student B, unable to endure this any longer, filed a complaint against A in September 2024, A in turn countersued the student for defamation, leading to a legal battle. In relation to the defamation case, it was determined that student B was not guilty of any charges.

As the investigation and court dispute dragged on for more than a year and the controversy grew, A is said to have belatedly expressed an intention to apologize.

Attorney Park Inuk, the legal representative for student B, stated, "These actions are clearly physical abuse that goes beyond educational guidance," adding, "Objective evidence of the harsh acts, including the human train, was secured, which led to the indictment."

Meanwhile, the private high school plans to decide on personnel measures against A depending on the outcome of the trial.