Court upholds school-violence measure over “kiss prank” at Eumseong elementary school
In short
Cheongju District Court has dismissed a lawsuit by the parents of an elementary school boy who approached a classmate with his lips extended, upholding a school-violence finding against him. The girl struck a metal pillar and injured her lip while avoiding him. The sanction was a written apology, the lightest of nine steps under the School Violence Prevention Act, and the court said the children’s statements were consistent and specific.
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Cheongju District Court Administrative Division 1, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Seong-ryul, dismissed a lawsuit by the parents of a student identified as A seeking to cancel a school-violence measure, Yonhap, the Dong-A Ilbo, Asia Economy and CBS NoCut News reported. The suit was filed against the superintendent of the Eumseong Education Support Office. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Yonhap reported that at about 2:40 p.m. on March 17 last year, in front of a classroom entrance at an elementary school in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do, A approached classmate B with his lips extended. B struck a metal pillar while trying to avoid him and injured her lip. [ 1 , 6 ]
After B’s parents filed a report, the school-violence countermeasure committee found the case constituted school violence and issued A a written apology, the lightest of nine steps under the School Violence Prevention Act, Yonhap and Asia Economy reported. Asia Economy said the apology is submitted in the student’s own handwriting and is erased from school records upon graduation. [ 1 , 5 ]
The boy’s parents argued in court that the elementary school students’ statements could not be trusted as given and that no objective evidence supported them, according to Yonhap, Asia Economy and CBS NoCut News. The court rejected the argument. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
Chief Judge Kim said the children’s statements about the incident were consistent and specific, and that the boy’s parents had also acknowledged to the school-violence investigation committee that the incident occurred. He said the plaintiff appeared to have acted with the intent to tease the victim and that, having received basic education about sex and reached a certain level of cognitive development, he would have vaguely recognised that the act could cause the other student displeasure in a way different from an ordinary use of physical force. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
The Dong-A Ilbo described the ruling as recent and credited its summary to Newsis, which headlined the court’s finding that the measure was justified. The Seoul Shinmun published only a headline framing the case as a question of whether it amounted to school violence. The body text carried under the Newsis headline concerned unrelated remarks by President Lee Jae-myung, not the case. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The ruling backs a school-violence committee’s finding and the lightest available sanction — a written apology rather than prosecution — in a dispute that had already been litigated through the courts. It also shows a court treating elementary school students’ accounts as consistent and specific over parents’ objections, the point the coverage emphasised. The documents give no indication of wider policy consequences.
Key facts
- Cheongju District Court Administrative Division 1, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Seong-ryul, dismissed a lawsuit seeking to cancel a school-violence measure. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The lawsuit was filed by the parents of a student identified as A against the superintendent of the Eumseong Education Support Office. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The incident took place on March 17 last year at an elementary school in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do, when A approached classmate B with his lips extended and B struck a metal pillar while avoiding him, injuring her lip. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
- A school-violence countermeasure committee issued a written apology, the lightest of nine steps under the School Violence Prevention Act. [ 1 , 5 ]
- The court said the children’s statements were consistent and specific and rejected the parents’ argument that the statements could not be trusted. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The court said the boy appeared to have acted with the intent to tease the other student and would have vaguely recognised that the act could cause displeasure. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
- Asia Economy reported the written apology is submitted in the student’s own handwriting and is erased from school records upon graduation. [ 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Cheongju District Court dismissed the parents’ lawsuit and held the school-violence measure justified. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The measure imposed on the boy was a written apology, the lightest of nine steps under the School Violence Prevention Act. [ 1 , 5 ]
- The incident occurred on March 17 last year at an elementary school in Eumseong, when the boy approached the girl with his lips extended and she struck a metal pillar while avoiding him. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
- The court based its finding on the children’s statements, which it called consistent and specific. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The parents argued the students’ statements could not be trusted as given and lacked supporting evidence, and the court rejected the argument. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- The date on which the court issued its ruling. Yonhap reports the ruling as handed down on Oct 4 and the Dong-A Ilbo calls it recent, but no document gives the ruling date.
- Whether the boy’s parents will appeal. No document mentions a possible appeal.
- Whether the written apology is removed from school records at graduation. Only Asia Economy states this detail; no other document corroborates it.
- The full content of the Newsis report on the case. The text carried under the Newsis headline concerns unrelated remarks by President Lee Jae-myung, so only the headline can be used for this event.
- Whether the Seoul Shinmun report adds details beyond its headline. Only the headline was available, and it frames the case as a question of whether it constituted school violence.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The boy approaches classmate B with his lips extended at a classroom entrance at an elementary school in Eumseong; B strikes a metal pillar while avoiding him and injures her lip. [ 1 , 6 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report on the Cheongju District Court ruling. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes a report headlined on the court’s finding. [ 2 ]
- The Dong-A Ilbo publishes its summary of the ruling. [ 3 ]
- The Seoul Shinmun publishes its headline on the case. [ 4 ]
- Asia Economy publishes its report, including details of the written-apology sanction. [ 5 ]
- CBS NoCut News publishes its summary of the ruling. [ 6 ]