Teenager forced to transfer school after harassing friend... Law calls “excessive punishment”

The court ruled that the decision to transfer schools even though the victim expressed that he did not want the perpetrator punished was an abuse of discretion and was illegal.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Daegu District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by teenager A against the superintendent of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Gimcheon Office of Education in December last year to cancel the school violence disciplinary action.

In 2024, Person A was referred to the School Violence Measures Review Committee for making comments that could cause sexual humiliation and pinching the body of a student in the same class. The committee that reviewed the case ordered A to complete 5 hours of special education and transfer students.

Group A protested, saying that this disciplinary action was overly harsh. He was a close friend of the victim, and it was said that the incident occurred during a playful conversation between peers and there was no intention to harass him. He also filed a lawsuit asking the court to cancel the transfer, saying he had asked for forgiveness from the victim.

The Office of Education immediately refuted the claim. This is because the level of A's words and actions is too high to be dismissed as a simple joke. They also argued that a school transfer was inevitable because the situation required complete separation between the victim student and Group A.

The court ruled in favor of Army A. The court said, "The review committee judged that there was no level of reflection and reconciliation on the part of the plaintiff, but considering that the victim student signed an agreement, the committee's judgment appears to be inappropriate. The plaintiff has never engaged in sexually problematic behavior other than this incident, and considering his usual relationship with the victim student, it is difficult to conclude that there is no possibility of the plaintiff leading the charge."

At the same time, the school transfer decision given to Mr. A was canceled, saying, "Even if a lighter measure is taken than a school transfer, it appears that education and guidance for the plaintiff can be achieved."

Attorney Noh Gyeong-guk of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented A, explained, "According to the School Violence Prevention Act, measures against the offending student are decided by comprehensively judging the offending student's degree of remorse and the possibility of leading the way," and added, "We were able to get a good result by emphasizing that complete reconciliation was achieved with the victim and that A had a good possibility of leading the way."

Reporter Kwon Byeong-seok (bsk730@fnnews.com)

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Teenager forced to transfer school after harassing friend... Law “Excessive Disposition” (Shortcut)