Supreme Court Confirms Fine for Teacher Who Hit Student's Head During Class

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A teacher who injured a student by hitting him on the head for talking during class was sentenced to a fine.

On the 4th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeonghwa) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing teacher A, who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to a fine of 1.5 million won.

Teacher A, who works at a middle school in Seoul, was on trial for hitting student B on the head 6 to 7 times during a math performance evaluation in November 2018 because B was talking while drawing. Student B complained of headaches and dizziness and was diagnosed with a "concussion without external injury." Afterwards, B claimed that A's actions constituted abuse that harmed his physical health and development.

The first trial court judged that A's actions were excessive considering the victim's age and the degree of assault, and sentenced A to a fine of 3 million won. The court pointed out that even if it was to discipline a student disrupting class, it was not urgent enough to justify the use of force by A.

The appellate court also recognized A's guilt. However, considering that the victim student did not want A to be punished, the fine was reduced to 1.5 million won. A appealed claiming innocence, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.

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