The appeal verdict for the special education teacher charged with abusing the developmentally disabled son of webtoon artist Joo Ho-min will be held today (13th).
According to the legal community, the 6-2 Criminal Appeal Division of the Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Kim Eun-jung, Kang Hee-kyung, Kwak Hyung-seob) will conduct the appeal verdict hearing for the special education teacher, referred to as A, who is charged with violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.
During the sentencing hearing held in January, the prosecution requested a sentence of 10 months in prison and a 3-year employment restriction for A, consistent with the original ruling.
The prosecution stated, "This case involves a child abuse crime where the reporter of the abuse has instead inflicted emotional abuse on the child, and despite the extremely poor nature of the crime, the defendant denies the charges and shows no sincere remorse."
The defendant's lawyer argued, "(The recorded evidence submitted) cannot be used as evidence to support the charges according to the provisions and literature of the Communications Privacy Protection Act," and added, "Even if the court disagrees with our view as in the first trial, the defendant's actions cannot be considered as child abuse as described in the charges."
A is accused of emotionally abusing the victimized child by saying, "You have a very bad habit. I hate it. I dislike you. I also dislike you," in a classroom at an elementary school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in September 2022.
The investigation began when Joo Ho-min placed a recording device in his son's outerwear and sent him to school, leading to the police report against A for child abuse based on the recorded content.
A received a guilty verdict with a suspended fine of 2 million won in the first trial. A then expressed concern that "the educational activities of other teachers and special education teachers might be discouraged" and appealed.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
