Parent Who Choked Teacher During Class Sentenced to Prison... Court: "Classroom Must Be a Space Guaranteed for Safety"

A mother in her 30s was detained in court after visiting a school and strangling a teacher’s neck and verbally abusing her during class, dissatisfied that her son was referred to the School Violence Deliberation Committee.

Judge Jeong Hee-young of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced the woman, identified as Ms. A, in her 30s, who was indicted without detention on charges of injury and child abuse under the Child Welfare Act, to one year in prison and ordered her immediate detention at the sentencing hearing held on the 23rd.

Ms. A was charged with injuring a female teacher, Ms. B, by strangling her neck and forcibly pulling her arm while verbally abusing her in a classroom at an elementary school in Incheon around 1:30 p.m. on November 18, 2021.

After receiving notification from the school that her son was identified as a perpetrator of school violence and would be referred to the School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee, she visited the school with two companions. She then entered the classroom and verbally abused Ms. B, saying, "You are not even qualified to be a teacher. I will report this to the police, the Office of Education, and the Minister of Education." Ms. A is also accused of emotionally abusing about ten elementary students present in the classroom at the time by shouting, "Who reported my child?"

The Incheon Elementary School Teachers' Union is holding a press conference urging severe punishment for a parent who caused injury to a teacher during class.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Judge Jeong stated, "The classroom where teachers and students conduct lessons must be a space where safety is guaranteed to the greatest extent possible," adding, "The defendant unlawfully intruded into the classroom during class, verbally abused the teacher, and caused injury, which is a very serious offense." He further explained the sentencing by saying, "The victim is pleading for strict punishment of the defendant, and it is questionable whether the defendant is sincerely remorseful, making severe punishment unavoidable."

During the trial, Ms. A claimed, "I did not verbally abuse anyone, nor did I hit the teacher’s neck or pull her arm," but the court did not accept her claims based on the consistent testimony of the victim and the statements of students who witnessed the incident. Judge Jeong also added that Ms. A’s act of visiting the classroom where the students who reported her son were attending and assaulting the teacher could discourage students from reporting future incidents, which is an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Earlier, the victim teacher, Ms. B, appealed through a petition, stating, "After the incident, I have been unable to carry out daily activities due to post-traumatic stress disorder and urinary disorders," and "Some children refused to testify out of fear of retaliation from the defendant." The Incheon Teachers’ Union also urged the court for strict punishment of Ms. A during the trial process, submitting a petition and an online signature list with 10,000 names to the court.

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