"Reflect in the Hell Bath" Teacher Isolates Elementary Student in Empty Classroom for Discipline... Fined

Cheongju District Court Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] A teacher in her 40s was fined for isolating a first-grade elementary student in an empty classroom called 'Jihoktang' (Hell Room) for disturbing study time.

On the 20th, Judge Jeong Yeon-ju of the Criminal Division 5 at Cheongju District Court announced that elementary school teacher A (47, female), who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes and the Personal Information Protection Act, was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won.

Judge Jeong stated, "Considering the testimonies of the victim child and other children, the word 'Jihoktang' itself can evoke fear in children," and added, "The defendant's actions cannot be regarded as proper discipline but rather as emotional abuse that harms the victim child's mental health and development."

She continued, "The defendant's behavior after the incident was also very unfavorable, such as scolding the victim child in the classroom because the child told their parents about the incident."

However, she explained the sentencing reasoning by saying, "The degree of abuse was relatively mild, and it appears to have been done with the intention of restraining behavior that disrupted the class."

Earlier, in April of last year, A was brought to trial on charges of isolating a first-grade student, whom she was homeroom teacher for, in an empty classroom called 'Jihoktang' for about eight minutes at an elementary school located in Cheongju, Chungbuk, because the student was disturbing study time.

During the trial, A reportedly claimed, "'Jihoktang' is just a nickname taken from the name of a fairy tale book and is not a scary place," and insisted, "It was a form of discipline."

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