'Joo Homin's Son Case' Enters Fourth Year... School Rights Protection Bureau Steps In to Support Special Education Teacher

Legal Battle Ongoing Since 2022
Additional Experts in Law and Counseling to Be Assigned

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education is deploying school rights protection officers and providing close support for a special education teacher who was acquitted in the appellate court after being tried on charges of emotionally abusing the son of webtoon artist Jo Homin. As the case, which began in 2022, has continued all the way to the Supreme Court due to the prosecution's appeal, the Office has stepped in to ensure that the teacher does not have to bear the legal and psychological burden alone.

Earlier, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education launched 300 dedicated school rights protection officers in August, the first nationwide. They were composed of personnel from various fields, including former and current teachers, lawyers, doctors, counseling experts, and police officers. Photo by Minseok Ahn, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. Yonhap News Agency

On September 15, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced that the School Rights Protection Team, which reports directly to the Superintendent, recently classified the case of the special education teacher, identified as Mr. A, as a "child abuse accusation" case and decided to provide direct support. The team assigned one full-time school rights protection officer—an academic supervisor—exclusively to Mr. A. This measure was taken in consideration of the seriousness of the matter, given the years-long duration of the case and the fact that the Supreme Court verdict is still pending.

Going forward, additional professionals such as lawyers, who are among the 300 school rights protection officers selected through public recruitment, will be assigned to the case. Mr. A will receive one-on-one support including legal counsel, psychological counseling, and healing services as needed. In 2022, Mr. A was indicted without detention on charges of emotionally abusing a nine-year-old student, the son of Mr. Jo, in a customized learning class at an elementary school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, by making remarks such as "You have a very bad habit," "I hate this so much I could die," and "I really don't like you."

Webtoon artist Jo Homin. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Jo family gave their child a recording device, which was used to record conversations in the classroom. Based on these recordings, Mr. A was reported on suspicion of child abuse, which led to an investigation. In the first trial, the court acknowledged the admissibility of the audio files as evidence and suspended the imposition of a 2 million won fine for Mr. A. However, the appellate court reached a different conclusion in May of last year.

The appellate court determined that the audio recording and transcript in question constituted "the recording of an undisclosed conversation between others," which is prohibited under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, and thus were inadmissible as evidence. The court further ruled that secondary evidence, such as the complaint and testimony based on the recordings, could not be used, overturned the first-instance ruling, and acquitted Mr. A. The prosecution did not accept the appellate court's decision and appealed, so the case is now awaiting the Supreme Court's final judgment.

Earlier, in August, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education launched 300 dedicated school rights protection officers for the first time nationwide. The team is composed of personnel from a wide range of fields, including former and current teachers, lawyers, doctors, counseling experts, and police officers. When a school rights-related report is received, the School Rights Protection Team generally classifies the case into "child abuse accusation," "interference with educational activities," or "malicious civil complaints," and then assesses the need for direct support. The key objective is to provide one-on-one support for teachers who experience violations of their rights—from initial response, fact-finding, and legal advice, to psychological counseling, healing, and follow-up care.

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