Supreme Court overturns fine for teacher who called student a 'swindler,' rules no child abuse

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an elementary school teacher who was indicted on child abuse charges after calling a student a "swindler" and making other remarks to the child.

The Supreme Court's First Division, presided over by Justice Shin Suk-hee, overturned a lower court ruling that had fined teacher A, 58, 2 million won ($1,310) for violating the Child Welfare Act and sent the case back to Suwon District Court for retrial, according to legal sources Wednesday.

A was accused of telling a student who complained about a performance evaluation result in 2019, "Why are you lying? You're a swindler," and "Don't become a child who lies like that person. You're disgusting to look at," as well as "Don't live your life that way." A also made the student write a letter of reflection.

A further posted a message on a parent notification app saying, "There is a student who fabricates lies convincingly, crying in detail and acting shamelessly as if wronged," and "Even though multiple people witnessed it, the student keeps insisting, crying and lying about being wronged." These actions led to the indictment.

Both the first and second courts found the conduct constituted emotional child abuse and sentenced A to a fine of 2 million won and ordered completion of a 40-hour child abuse treatment program.

The Supreme Court, however, found that the student's repeated complaints could be seen as disruptive behavior that infringed on other students' right to learn and on the teacher's authority. It also found that A's remarks were likely made in the course of a homeroom teacher's guidance duties.

While A's words were not appropriate, the court said they could not be considered abuse severe enough to directly demean the child's character or harm the child's emotional development.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's guilty verdict and remanded the case for a new hearing.

The National Principals, Vice Principals and Directors Good Education Policy Forum welcomed the ruling, calling it "a commonsense decision."