Student Accused as Bully Wins Administrative Lawsuit Against School Principal

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[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim So-young] A high school girl who was accused of being a 'bully perpetrator' ostracizing a classmate and received a written apology order from the school violence self-governing committee won an administrative lawsuit she filed against the school principal.

The Administrative Division 1-2 of Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jong-hwan) announced on the 17th that it ruled in favor of Ms. A in the lawsuit to cancel the written apology order issued by the principal of a girls' high school in Incheon.

The court ordered the cancellation of the written apology order imposed on Ms. A by the school violence self-governing committee. It also ordered the school to bear all litigation costs.

In May 2019, Ms. B, a classmate, reported that "including Ms. A, a total of eight students used words and actions to ostracize others throughout the school," leading to Ms. A being labeled as a perpetrator of group ostracism at school.

Ms. A claimed that although she once told a friend in the school shuttle van in April of the same year that she would not hang out with Ms. B, she did not ostracize Ms. B.

However, in June of the same year, the school held a school violence countermeasure self-governing committee meeting and concluded that Ms. A's actions constituted school violence, issuing her a written apology order. No disciplinary measures were taken against the other students as their intentionality was not recognized.

Unable to accept the school's decision, Ms. A filed an administrative appeal, but it was dismissed by the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education Administrative Appeals Committee, leading her to ultimately file an administrative lawsuit.

In the administrative lawsuit, Ms. A argued, "I did not intentionally ostracize my friend as part of a group, so it does not constitute school violence," and "the school misunderstood the situation."

The court judged that, contrary to the school's decision, it was difficult to conclude that Ms. A's actions at the time were intentional ostracism.

The court stated, "'Ostracism' refers to acts where two or more people continuously inflict physical or psychological attacks on a specific person inside or outside the school, causing the victim to feel pain," and "for ostracism to be considered school violence, intentionality must be present."

Furthermore, "Ms. A and Ms. B usually hung out together more often than with other friends but seemed to have become uncomfortable with each other," and "Ms. A's statement in the school shuttle van was merely expressing her attitude toward Ms. B to a third party and is difficult to view as an act infringing on personal rights," the court judged.

The court also stated, "There is a lack of concrete circumstances to conclude that Ms. A engaged in speech or behavior that ignored or insulted Ms. B's dignity together with other students," and "the school's disciplinary action is illegal."

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