Teacher disciplined for filming noisy students for 5 seconds, sparking 'emotional abuse' debate
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A contract middle school teacher received disciplinary measures after filming a student making noise during class for five seconds, an action that education authorities concluded constituted emotional child abuse.
The Office of Education in North Gyeongsang Province said Wednesday that a child abuse complaint was filed early last month against a contract teacher at a middle school in Yeongju.
A subsequent investigation by education authorities found that the teacher, who had been working at the school since May and identified only as A, used a smartphone to film the classroom two to three times when students repeatedly refused to follow instructions and made noise during class. The teacher reportedly told the students that the videos, each lasting around five seconds, would be sent to their parents. However, the videos were not sent to the parents and were later deleted.
After receiving the complaint, the education office convened a personnel advisory committee, during which A is said to have defended the action as an attempt to calm the class after the students continued to disobey instructions to quiet down.
The committee, on the grounds that filming the students’ faces without their consent had caused them discomfort, concluded that A’s behavior constituted emotional child abuse and imposed disciplinary measures that included barring A from serving as a homeroom teacher and issuing a formal warning from the school principal.
Police also booked A on suspicion of violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and are conducting an investigation. “We will determine whether the conduct constitutes an offense after establishing the exact circumstances of the incident,” a police official said.
Among teachers, some have voiced concerns that the disciplinary measures were too harsh. The Gyeongbuk branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union also said it will decide whether to take a formal action after consulting with the teacher.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.