"Teacher Who Posted 'School Uniform Obscene Material' on Ilbe, Why the Lightest Discipline?"... Protest Letters Appear at Education Office

[Image source = Screenshot of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Citizen Petition Board]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A citizen petition protesting the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's decision to issue the lowest level of disciplinary action, a "reprimand," to elementary school teacher A (28), who posted obscene materials and photos of a woman in a school uniform on the online community "Ilgan Best Storage (Ilbe)," has been posted.

On the 16th, a post titled "Ilbe Teacher Reprimand" was uploaded to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's citizen petition board.

The author stated, "The teacher who posted obscene materials featuring 'young female students' in school uniforms on Ilbe received only a reprimand despite a heavy fine because it was not considered a sex crime," adding, "Statistics show that this type of crime has a high likelihood of reoffending, and I am very worried about how A views and treats the young female students he teaches. It is highly doubtful that he only looks at them without further misconduct."

They continued, "Parents and women will closely monitor how this case is handled until the end," and demanded, "We ask the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to clarify their position and plans regarding this matter."

As of this morning, the petition has surpassed 9,000 signatures, about three days after being posted on the 16th. If a citizen petition to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education receives more than 10,000 signatures, the office is required to respond.

[Image source = Yonhap News]

Earlier, elementary school teacher A posted an obscene video featuring a young female student on the online community "Ilbe" on March 23 from his home in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, under the title "Ha... school uniform ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ."

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, which investigated the case, judged that the characters in the obscene video posted by A were not clearly recognizable as children or adolescents, and applied charges under the Information and Communications Network Act (distribution of obscene materials) rather than the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, resulting in a summary order of a 6 million won fine.

Additionally, during the investigation, the prosecution confirmed that A had posted photos of women presumed to be teenagers wearing school uniforms but regarded these as ordinary daily life photos rather than obscene materials or child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials, and thus did not include them in the indictment.

At the trial, A reportedly claimed, "I committed the offense due to stress experienced from students after being assigned as an elementary school teacher."

After receiving the disposition from the prosecution, the education authorities held a disciplinary committee for educational public officials in August and issued A a mild disciplinary action of "reprimand." A "reprimand" is a relatively light punishment compared to severe disciplinary actions such as dismissal, removal, demotion, or suspension.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated that regarding the reason for the disciplinary action, according to their internally operated "Standards for Handling Public Officials Violating Laws," they regarded A's charge, which was subject to a summary order, as a "general crime" rather than sexual misconduct and requested a mild disciplinary decision.

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