A special education teacher, who was put on trial for allegedly abusing the son of webtoon artist Joo Ho-min, has been acquitted in an appellate court.
According to News1 on the 13th, the 6-2 division of the Suwon District Court (Judges Kim Eun-jung, Kang Hee-kyung, and Kwak Hyung-seob) overturned the original ruling in the appellate case related to Teacher A’s violations of the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes and the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, and declared A not guilty.
The appellate court stated that the evidence collected by placing a recording device in the child's backpack (by Mr. Joo) violated the Communications Privacy Protection Act and therefore was not admissible.
In September 2022, Teacher A was charged with emotionally abusing Mr. Joo's son, B (then 9 years old), during class at the elementary school where they worked, making comments such as "You are really disgusting, what’s in your head?" "Your behavior is really bad," and "I hate you so much. I don’t like you either, I really hate you."
Previously, the first-instance court deemed some of Teacher A's charges as guilty and suspended a fine of 2 million won. A suspended sentence defers the sentencing for a certain period for minor crimes, effectively rendering the issue non-existent after two years from the date of suspension.
※ Further details will be reported later.
※ Further details will be reported later.
Image source: youtube 'Joo Ho-min'
