'Joo Homin Son Child Abuse Case' Teacher's Recording Released in Court

On the 27th, an audio recording of special education teacher A, who was indicted on charges of emotionally abusing webtoon artist Ju Ho-min’s son, was revealed in court.

During the fourth hearing on the child abuse charges against special education teacher A, held under the presiding of Judge Kwak Yong-heon at Suwon District Court Criminal Division 9 in the afternoon, the court conducted an evidentiary examination of the recording containing statements A made to Ju’s son (9) during class last September.

Ju’s side reported A to the police on child abuse charges based on the recorded content after having Ju’s son carry a recorder to school last year.

According to the prosecution’s indictment, A said, "You’re really detestable. What on earth is in your head? Your behavior is very bad. Ugh, I hate you. I hate you to death. I hate you. I hate you too. Really hate you."

The prosecution judged A’s remarks as emotional abuse that harms the mental health and development of Ju’s son, who has developmental disabilities. A was brought to trial on December 27 last year.

A’s defense attorney argued that the remarks such as "detestable," which the prosecution took issue with, were soliloquies, and that to understand the context in which A made those remarks, the entire recording, not just partial clips, should be played.

On this day, about 2 hours and 30 minutes of the total 4-hour recording?from the time Ju’s son received class from A until before returning home?was disclosed.

About 37 minutes into playing the recording, A said to Ju’s son, "Ah, you’re really detestable. What on earth is in your head?" Then, when A asked, "Do you want to go to your friends?" Ju’s son answered, "Yes," to which A replied, "You can’t go. You can’t. Read (the book)."

About 2 hours into the recording, when Ju’s son read aloud "Your behavior is very bad" from the textbook, A said, "It’s you. Your behavior is bad. I’m talking about you," and added, "I hate you too. Really hate you."

The prosecution pointed out regarding these remarks by the defendant, "Even if the victim child cannot pronounce perfectly, he is participating sincerely in the class, but remarks unrelated to the class were made," and "From the victim child’s perspective, he was following the textbook well, so he must have been embarrassed by the teacher’s words."

The defendant’s attorney claimed, "The part where he said the child couldn’t go to his friends was because the victim child suddenly made a 'ak-ak' sound and tried to go outside, so the teacher restrained him and reminded him why he was separated," and "The remark 'Your behavior is very bad' was made referring to the victim child’s past behavior of pulling down his pants."

The attorney emphasized, "The situation where the defendant said 'I hate you' was when teaching connected reading, and the child kept reading incorrectly," and "The victim child’s parents claim that the defendant was speaking directly to the child, but it was a soliloquy."

Judge Kwak said regarding some of the defendant’s remarks, "Putting legalities aside, from a parent’s perspective listening, there are expressions that could be upsetting," and "I don’t think the defendant spoke with malicious intent. I understand the remarks were made as inappropriate behavior during the disciplinary process."

A’s next hearing is scheduled for the 18th of next month.

During that hearing, witness questioning of a local government official who judged A’s remarks as child abuse is expected to take place.

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