Daycare teachers fined for pushing, grabbing toddlers — one child suffers broken leg

A daycare teacher and her aide have been fined after a court upheld their convictions for physically abusing children in their care, leaving one with a broken leg.

The Chuncheon District Court on Tuesday dismissed the defendants' appeal in the second-trial proceedings against lead teacher A and aide B, both charged with violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act at a daycare center in Wonju. The first-instance court had fined A 5 million won ($3,310) and B 12 million won.

A is accused of grabbing a 3-year-old child who was wandering around the classroom in September 2024, forcing the child to sit against a wall so she could take a photo for the center's parent notification app "Kidsnote," and yanking the child's wrist when the toddler tried to move away.

A also repeatedly pushed the child's face with her palm and pulled both ears while attempting to take the photo. When the child tried to move again, A threatened to kick the child.

Later the same day, after the child threw a toy on the floor and nearly hit another child, A grabbed the child's head by both ears and shook the child's upper body repeatedly, according to investigators.

B, the aide assigned to the same classroom, lifted a different child off the ground and then slammed the child down onto the floor, fracturing the child's shinbone in an injury requiring approximately 14 weeks of treatment.

B acted after the child refused to hand over a toy that had been used to hit a classmate and instead approached the classmate again while still holding it, investigators found.

The first-instance court acknowledged that teachers managing multiple children while also meeting parents' requests face genuine difficulties, but found the conduct nonetheless constituted abuse.

[르포] 2시간 불법주차도 딱지 못떼는 현실…무법지대 선거유세차 ‘눈살’ [세상&]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10761069