Homeroom Teacher Fined for Yelling "Don't Come Out" at Elementary Student Asking a Question

"Not Blocking Teacher's Thoughts" Reflection Essay Required
Fine of 7 Million Won and Completion of Child Abuse Treatment Program

A teacher in their 40s who was prosecuted for emotionally abusing lower-grade elementary school students by yelling at them without reason was sentenced to a fine in the appellate court.

On the 19th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-jin) dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. A (44 years old), who was charged with violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (aggravated punishment for child abuse by workers at child welfare facilities), and sentenced him to a fine of 7 million won and 40 hours of completion of a child abuse treatment program, the same as the original sentence.

Students are going to school at an elementary school in Seoul. The photo is not directly related to the article content. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

In 2022, Mr. A, who was assigned to a third-grade elementary school class, was prosecuted for emotionally abusing children in a way that harmed their mental health from March to June.

In April of the same year, Mr. A stood five victim children near the teacher's desk and made remarks such as "Don't give the teacher a headache" and "You will become a strange person when you grow up" without properly explaining what they had done wrong.

Even when other children entered the classroom for class, he made the victim children stand at the back of the classroom and repeatedly told them "Don't give me a headache" for about an hour in the hallway.

He is also accused of emotionally abusing the victim children nine times in front of other children, saying things like "Don't act like someone who watched adult videos" and "You seem like a mentally ill person."

Additionally, he scolded a student who greeted him with "Hello" by saying "Don't give the teacher a headache," shouted "Don't come out" at a student approaching the teacher's desk to ask a question during class, and made them write a reflection letter containing "Do not give the teacher a headache, do not interrupt when the teacher is speaking, do not block the teacher's thoughts."

During student counseling, he got angry at a victim child saying, "What if you tell your mom about what happened at school every day?" which caused the victim child to cry.

During the trial, Mr. A claimed, "I counseled the children for educational purposes or life safety guidance," and "I only verbally reprimanded them without coercive means, so although the children may have felt uncomfortable, I did not emotionally abuse them."

However, the first trial court stated, "It is recognized that the defendant committed acts as described in the charges against the victim children," and "These acts are behaviors that pose a risk or possibility of harming the children's mental health and development, constituting emotional abuse."

It added, "The defendant, who should protect and teach the victim children, still blames only the victim children's behavior and consistently insists that his actions were legitimate discipline," but "considering that this is his first offense, that some of the actions appeared to have disciplinary purposes, and that the degree of abuse was not severe, the sentence was determined."

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