"I'll Do the Same for You, Yeonjin"... Can Self-Defense Justify School Violence?

'Excessive Defense' and 'Excessive Assault' Possible
Victim Claims "There Is Nothing I Can Do"

Can self-defense be justified if a victim of school violence hits the perpetrator back in the same way?

Interest in school violence is heating up as the Netflix drama , in which the protagonist Moon Dong-eun (played by Song Hye-kyo), who experienced horrific school violence, meticulously prepares revenge over 18 years, becomes a hit. Viewers hope for a satisfying storyline of justice and retribution, wishing that the perpetrators of school violence receive equal punishment and suffer accordingly.

However, in reality, it is difficult for school violence cases to qualify as 'self-defense.'

"The price of bullying" vs "Need to teach proper response"

On the 17th, a post titled "My middle school first-year son committed school violence" was uploaded on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind.' The author, Mr. A, stated, "My son hit his friend B, who kept ignoring and hitting him," and revealed that B’s nose was broken and his ankle was completely twisted, resulting in a medical diagnosis requiring at least 12 weeks of treatment.

Since the full return to school after more than two years following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2021, officials from Dobong Police Station in Dobong-gu, Seoul, are seen distributing pencils for school violence prevention./Photo by Joint Press Corps

Mr. A said, "I taught my son from a young age to know how to protect himself, so I had him learn jiu-jitsu, but this incident happened." He added, "Currently, my wife is scolding the child, but I am actually praising him. If he had been the first to assault or bully, I would have really punished him." Mr. A’s son claimed that he assaulted B because "he had been bullying me since elementary school." B has admitted to this, and the parents of both Mr. A and B have spoken, concluding the truth verification. The teachers are also aware of this fact.

Regarding Mr. A’s son’s 'mutual assault,' netizens engaged in heated debate. Some argued that "it’s better than being a victim," and called it "the price of years of bullying," asserting that the victim’s assault was self-defense. However, others criticized the assault, saying, "Instead of hitting back equally, children should be taught to seek help from those around them," and "There are limits even in self-defense."

What are the 'criteria' for self-defense?

If a victim student hits the perpetrator student back in the same way, it may be considered 'assault' rather than 'self-defense.' In 2017, student C was blocked several times by student D while on the way to the school music room, and in anger, C hit D’s head and back. Although C claimed self-defense, stating that D had continuously and unilaterally bullied him, the court regarded C’s actions as 'assault.' Subsequently, C was ordered to issue a written apology.

In 2021, high school girls who collectively assaulted a middle school girl in Gwangju were sent to the prosecution. However, the victim middle school girl who filed the complaint was also sent to the prosecution. The Nambu Police Station explained, "Through videos taken by the perpetrators, it was confirmed that the victim also committed assault. Even if she was assaulted by two people, the extent exceeded the scope where self-defense could be established," and thus applied general assault charges to the victim.

The current requirements for establishing self-defense under criminal law are as follows. Article 21 of the Criminal Act defines self-defense as "an act to defend oneself or another’s legal interest against a current unlawful infringement," and stipulates that "if there is a reasonable cause, the act shall not be punished." However, the concept of 'reasonable cause' itself is abstract, so the scope of permissible self-defense can vary depending on interpretation.

Moreover, the Supreme Court takes a cautious stance on recognizing self-defense. Even outside school violence cases, examples such as a woman biting the tongue of a man attempting sexual assault, or a homeowner hitting a burglar who then became comatose, have all been judged as 'excessive defense' and 'excessive assault.'

Victim students can become 'perpetrators' instead

Thus, even if a student is clearly a victim, if they use violence against the perpetrator, they can simultaneously be both 'victim' and 'perpetrator.' In 2021, at a high school in Changwon, a perpetrator verbally abused another student, kicked their leg, and hit their face twice, resulting in a three-week medical diagnosis. However, the School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee also took issue with the fact that the assaulted student had kicked the perpetrator’s knee once. Ultimately, both students were classified as perpetrators and victims and were given the third-level disciplinary action of 'school service.'

Victims express that even when subjected to one-sided assault, "there is nothing they can do." One netizen criticized the reality where victims must endure abuse, saying, "If teachers, parents, and society do not help, what exactly can victims do?"

Attorney Ko Kyung-hwan said in an interview on YTN Radio’s 'Attorney Lee Seung-woo’s Case File' on the 13th, in response to the question, "What is important is the judgment of whether an act is 'resistance' or 'another form of violence,'" that "it is difficult to say that the legal principles of self-defense under criminal law have been directly applied to administrative measures related to school violence. However, it appears that the nature of the school violence and the proportionality of the response were compared and weighed in the judgment."

Meanwhile, in 2012 in the United States, a victim student who was being bullied collectively stabbed and killed a perpetrator student with a weapon, and the court ruled it as self-defense. The Caloosa County Court in Florida stated regarding the case, "There was sufficient reason to believe that the victim student could have died or suffered serious physical injury."

This ruling was based on the 'Stand Your Ground' law, which allows individuals to defend themselves if they believe they are under threat. However, following this ruling, controversy arose over whether it effectively condoned further violence in cases of school bullying.

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