Teacher accused of sexually harassing student let off with warning at private high school in Seoul

A private high school in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu has come under criticism for issuing only a “principal’s warning,” with no formal disciplinary action, to a male teacher who sexually harassed a female student. The school said that the decision followed the findings of its internal Sexual Harassment Deliberation Committee. However, critics argue that when such committees at private schools hand down lenient measures in sexual misconduct cases, there needs to be a system in place for intervention by education authorities or the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

According to reporting on July 30, the case occurred at Sudo Electric Technical High School in 2023, when teacher Mr. A allegedly sexually harassed student Ms. B by contacting her at night and making inappropriate physical contact. The school’s committee concluded that the teacher had called the student into the teacher’s office under the pretense of offering English tutoring, made her play a “game” where she had to place her thigh between his legs, and sent her multiple late-night messages like “I miss you” and “Are you asleep?” all of which they deemed sexual harassment.

Despite this conclusion, the committee recommended only minor administrative actions. It advised only an administrative warning from the principal, 30 hours of in-person counseling, and removal from homeroom and managerial duties. A principal’s warning is considered an administrative action, not a formal disciplinary measure, and carries no substantial consequences. According to reports, many teachers within the school expressed concern, saying that official disciplinary action was warranted. However, at private schools, disciplinary measures must be initiated by the school’s board of directors through a personnel committee, which was never convened. The school explained, “Since the deliberation committee did not recommend any disciplinary action, we did not open a personnel or disciplinary committee.”

The deliberation committee consisted of four internal and three external members. If the committee does not recommend disciplinary action, the perpetrator can avoid formal consequences, even in confirmed cases of sexual misconduct. Lim Hye-jung, head of the women’s committee at the Seoul branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, said, “The Metropolitan Office of Education can issue a recommendation for disciplinary action, but if a private school chooses to ignore it, there’s no real enforcement mechanism.”

There is also no way for the student to formally appeal the committee’s decision. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s “Guidelines for Handling School Sexual Harassment Cases,” students must be informed that “there is no established procedure for overturning decisions made by the deliberation committee.” A spokesperson for the education office said, “Of course, when you hear one side’s account, it might seem terribly unfair, but there’s always another side. If both internal and external members evaluated the case and reached a conclusion, even if unfortunate, we have to respect that outcome.”

Criticism is also mounting over the lack of transparency in how the case was handled. The committee’s decision document included only the outcome, without any detailed reasoning behind the lack of disciplinary recommendation. The victim said, “I’m graduating soon, but there could be second or third victims,” adding that she had hoped for the teacher to face disciplinary action but received no clear explanation. She said she was never formally informed of the committee’s decision and only heard that “the teacher’s arrival time to school would be delayed and a classroom where he used to teach would be changed.” She reported multiple encounters with the teacher in the school hallways even after the incident.

Under the Sexual Violence Prevention Act, schools are required to report any known cases of sexual violence to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and submit the committee’s findings along with a plan for preventing recurrence and protecting the victim. However, the ministry can only issue non-binding recommendations. Kim Jung-deok, an activist with the group Political Mamas, said, “When teachers are found to have committed sexual misconduct but still escape formal punishment, there must be a way to address this systemically.”

※This article was translated by an AI tool and edited by a professional translator.