Special needs teacher appeals after conviction in contentious abuse case

The special needs teacher found guilty of committing verbal abuse against the autistic son of popular webtoonist Joo Ho-min announced she had filed an appeal at a press conference held Tuesday.

The special needs teacher found guilty of committing verbal abuse against the son of webtoonist Joo Ho-min announces she filed an appeal in the case at a press conference in front of the Suwon District Court on Tuesday morning. [YONHAP]

The special needs teacher found guilty of committing verbal abuse against the autistic son of popular webtoonist Joo Ho-min announced she had filed an appeal at a press conference held Tuesday.

In an emotional speech outside the Suwon District Court, the teacher said that her conviction had prevented her from returning to her job as a special needs instructor, which she described as a “dream” of hers that had effectively been “taken away” by the court decision.

Joo and his wife, Han Soo-ja, accused the teacher of abusing their autistic son in September 2022 after secretly recording their interactions earlier that month using a hidden device.

Joo’s son, who was two years older than his second-grade peers at the time, was assigned to a special needs class after he hit other students and exposed his genitals to a female classmate.

In the recording, the special needs teacher tells Joo’s son, “Your habits are very nasty. Oh, how I dislike it. I can’t stand it. I don’t like you.”

At the press conference, the teacher argued that she was referring to the child’s behavior, not the child himself, as she tried to prevent him from misbehaving in the special needs classroom.

After the Suwon District Court handed her a suspended fine of 2 million won ($1,500), Joo went on the popular streaming site Twitch to defend his decision to record his son’s interactions with the teacher secretly.

In a widely criticized online broadcast, Joo claimed that he placed the recording device inside his son’s school bag because the child often defecated and urinated in places other than bathrooms.

The webtoonist also claimed his son had not intended to expose himself to his female classmate but that the girl simply happened to see him as he lowered his trousers.

In her speech, the teacher expressed doubt that Joo had placed the recording device in the bag out of concern for his son’s bowel and bladder movements, noting that he and his wife had never mentioned the problem in their meetings with her.

She criticized the court’s decision to admit the recording as evidence against her.

“The practice of parents recording teacher’s lessons simply because they are upset over something must be stopped,” she argued.

She also pushed back against Joo’s allegations that she demanded monetary compensation from him, saying that she had instructed her lawyers to drop the request but that the webtoonist had exaggerated the issue.

Prosecutors indicted the teacher on child abuse in December 2022, leading to her suspension from her job.

The issue regained public attention in July last year after the suicide of an elementary teacher who reportedly faced harassment from parents.

The teacher's death brought attention to the harassment many educators endure and widespread violations of teachers' rights.

Joo and Han’s actions against the teacher, which included recording her conversations with their son and demanding the school suspend her before the court reached its decision, were publicly criticized as excessive.

The teacher’s press conference was also attended by 70 other special needs instructors, who called the judgment against her an attack on their profession.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]