"Not Paying Attention"... Elementary School PE Teacher Made Students Stand Under Goalpost and Hit by Friends' Balls

Parents Accuse Physical Education Teacher of Child Abuse Allegations

Basketball hoop. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Police have launched an investigation following allegations that a physical education teacher at an elementary school in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, made a student stand under a basketball hoop and had other students throw balls at him.

According to the Gumi Office of Education on the 11th, the parents of elementary school student A claimed, "In November last year, PE teacher B made A stand near the basketball hoop for 'not concentrating in class' and had classmates throw basketballs at him," and requested the School Violence Review Committee (Hakpokwi) to be convened.

The school requested a review from the Gumi Office of Education on November 2 of last year, and the Hakpokwi was held on December 2 of the same year. However, the committee concluded that 'while B’s actions were problematic as a method of student guidance and discipline, there was no evidence of intentional or emotional abuse,' and ruled that it was not school violence.

In response, A’s parents filed a complaint with the police accusing B of child abuse. The Gumi Police Station recently investigated B and obtained closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the school to examine whether child abuse occurred.

The police plan to discuss with Gumi City and child protection agencies to determine whether B’s actions constitute child abuse.

Meanwhile, it is known that B was previously disciplined in 2018 for making students play rock-paper-scissors and having the winner slap the loser.

At that time, the school tried to resolve the issue by obtaining a written pledge from B to prevent recurrence, but as problems persisted, the Gumi City Office of Education conducted a fact-finding investigation and issued minor disciplinary actions such as a reprimand and salary reduction.

After the disciplinary action, B was transferred to Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, on September 1 of the same year, and was reassigned back to Gumi in March last year.

The Gumi Office of Education stated that it will decide on disciplinary measures after reviewing the results of the police investigation related to this matter.

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