A special education teacher, who was charged with emotionally abusing the son of webtoon artist Joo Ho-min and found guilty in the first trial, was acquitted in the appeal.
The Suwon District Court's Criminal Appeal Division 6-2 (Presiding Judge Kim Eun-jung) overturned the first trial's ruling, which had suspended a fine of 2 million won, and declared the teacher, referred to as A, not guilty on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.
The original court recognized the evidentiary value of the 'secret recording' in this case, considering the exceptional circumstances such as the child being autistic. However, the appellate court made the opposite judgment.
The appellate court stated, “According to the records of this case, it is clear that the victim's mother placed a recording device with the recording function turned on in her child's clothing, which recorded conversations between the defendant and the child during class time. Such recording files and transcripts fall under 'undisclosed conversations between others' in violation of the Communications Privacy Protection Act, and therefore cannot be used as evidence,” it ruled.
A was charged with emotionally abusing the victim 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 sent a recording device in his son's outerwear to school, and based on the recorded content, reported A to the police for child abuse allegations.
The prosecution sought a 10-month prison sentence and a 3-year employment restriction for A, but the court issued a suspended fine of 2 million won in the sentencing hearing held in February last year. Both the prosecution and A's side appealed this ruling.
In the appeal hearing held last January, A stated, “One day, the horrifying and unbelievable term 'child abuse defendant' pointed at me and was used to finger me. Looking back on my 20 years in the teaching profession, I think I was not a shameful teacher, even if I was not perfect at every moment. No matter how many times I think about it, I am not a child abuser,” asserting his innocence.
On the other hand, the prosecution argued, “This case is extremely serious as the defendant, who is obligated to report child abuse crimes, has instead emotionally abused the child, and the defendant denies the crime and shows no remorse,” seeking the same 10-month prison sentence and 3-year employment restriction as in the original trial.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
