Court imposes fine again in 2nd trial on father who slapped daughter during overnight leave... "Cannot be considered a justifiable act"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A man in his 50s who physically assaulted his daughter for reasons such as staying out overnight was sentenced to a fine. The man argued in court that his actions were a lawful act of discipline under criminal law, but this was not accepted.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judges Kim Jae-young, Song Hye-young, Jo Jung-rae) sentenced A (53), who was charged with assault, to a fine of 700,000 won, the same as the first trial.

A was charged with assault for slapping his daughter’s cheek or grabbing her hair and knocking her down between March and July 2018, citing reasons such as coming home late or contacting her maternal grandparents’ house.

In court, A claimed that his actions were lawful acts of discipline carried out to correct his daughter’s frequent overnight stays and bad behavior.

Article 20 of the Criminal Act states, “Acts performed under laws or official duties, or other acts not violating social norms, shall not be punishable as unlawful acts.”

However, like the first trial court, the appellate court rejected A’s claim.

The court stated, “For an act to be recognized as lawful, five requirements must be met: ‘justification of motive and purpose,’ ‘appropriateness of means and methods,’ ‘balance between protected interests and infringed interests,’ ‘urgency,’ and ‘subsidiarity, meaning no other means or methods are available.’”

It added, “Even if the defendant, as a father, needed to correct his daughter’s behavior, the acts of slapping her cheek or grabbing her hair and knocking her down do not meet these requirements and cannot be considered lawful acts.”

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