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Staff reporter
A court ruled Tuesday that a high school in Gyeonggi Province did not overstep its authority in dismissing a male teacher who forced a group of trainee teachers to drink “love shots” against their will at an evening get-together party.
A “love shot” is when two people drink with arms entwined, a drinking ritual meant to boost teamwork and forge closer relationships but which is often abused by male superiors.
The teacher also sullied the dignity of educators by making unwanted physical contact with them, it said, siding with the school’s decision to dismiss him.
“The teacher apparently forced trainee teachers to drink excessively and made unwanted physical contact with them. His behavior is tantamount to compromising the dignity of all teachers here,” the Seoul Administrative Court said.
The court also said what the teacher did to the trainees clearly constituted harassment, adding there was nothing wrong with the school’s decision to sack him.
In April 2009, the teacher made a group of university seniors assigned to the school for hands-on teaching experience drink excessively against their will and behaved improperly toward them, which could be seen as sexual harassment. In May, the school sacked him for his inappropriate behavior at the time.
But a month later, he took the case to the Appeal Commission for Teachers, arguing the dismissal was excessive for what he had done. But the commission rejected his appeal. The teacher then filed a complaint with the court.
It is often the norm in Korea for superiors and elders force subordinates and the young to binge drink at a party in the name of improving teamwork and establishing closer relations. There have been many cases where subordinates, mostly women, were sexually and verbally harassed by male seniors and coworkers.
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