It was self-defense, but the perpetrator and victim were reversed... School violence among middle school students, court decision

A teenager who assaulted a student of his age whom he met for the first time at an overseas experiential learning camp was spared a protective measure thanks to the court's leniency. During a physical fight with an upper-class student, the other person was injured, but it was recognized as self-defense.

The Suwon Family Court announced that it had decided not to indict Mr. A (13), who was handed over to trial on charges of insult and injury in January. Person A is accused of using violence against Person B, who is one grade higher than him and was assigned to the same accommodation at an overseas education camp in February of last year.

The conflict between the two began during a social game that was part of the camp program. Group B claimed that other students, including Group A, were responsible for his continued defeat. Boy A refuted, saying, “I have never taken any shortcuts,” and eventually a physical fight broke out. As a result, Group A suffered a broken nose and Group B suffered an injury to his jaw that required two weeks of treatment.

During the trial, Person A explained, "Group B swore at Person A and acted threateningly as if he was trying to hit him several times. He used violence as a defense to escape aggressive behavior." He also emphasized, “Group B’s one-sided verbal abuse and assault was the cause of this incident, and immediately after the incident, B was forced to return to the country.”

The court also ruled that Mr. A's actions were not intentional and decided to grant no injunction.

Lawyer Jang-eun Jang of Daeryun Law Firm, which represented Boy A, said, "Group B filed a criminal complaint at the same time as reporting school violence, but in this case, the perpetrator and victim were reversed." He added, "Initially, the School Violence Response Committee (School Violence Committee) only acknowledged the assault by the two people and decided to take action against Boy A, but we filed an administrative lawsuit and received a decision to cancel."

He added, "Group A was diagnosed with a fractured nose bone due to a one-sided assault by B, an upperclassman," and added, "The school violence committee also recognized A's actions as self-defense, and based on this, we were able to prove that the victim in this case was A, not B."

Reporter Hwang Jeong-won (jwhwang@mt.co.kr)

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It was self-defense, but the perpetrator and victim were reversed... School violence among middle school students, court decision (link)