Supreme Court Confirms Guilt of Childcare Teacher Who Placed 4-Year-Old Child on 78cm High Storage Cabinet

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A childcare teacher who was accused of emotionally abusing a 4-year-old child by making them sit on a 78 cm high toy storage cabinet for 40 minutes has been found guilty.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sang-hwan) announced on the 2nd that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing A, who was charged with violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse), to a fine of 700,000 won.

The court stated, "Childcare teacher A showed a coercive and negative attitude and made the victim child sit on a high place, which is not only a dangerous act in itself but also likely caused the victim child to feel fear or alienation," adding, "The lower court's ruling recognizing emotional abuse of the victim child and judging the charges as guilty does not contain any legal error."

A was charged in March 2015 at a daycare center in Buk-gu, Ulsan, for making the victim child sit on a toy storage cabinet about 78 cm high for 40 minutes because the child was engaging in dangerous behavior such as climbing onto the cabinet.

In court, A argued, "This was an educational activity to correct the child's dangerous behavior and does not constitute emotional abuse."

The first trial court rejected A's claim and found A guilty, sentencing them to a fine of 1,500,000 won.

The appellate court also recognized guilt, stating, "The victim child and their parents suffered considerable mental distress." However, considering that the incident occurred during disciplinary measures, the fine was reduced to 700,000 won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.