School Violence Cases
School violence cases come in many forms. They include physical assault, verbal abuse, exclusion, and extortion of money or property. In recent years, the severity of these offenses has been escalating. As time goes on, increasingly serious matters are surfacing as school violence, and victimized students often file a police report at the same time they report the incident to the school. As a result, once school violence occurs, it can no longer be brushed aside as a simple reprimand or reconciliation; cases now go beyond the School Violence Committee (학교폭력대책심의위원회) to juvenile trials and, in severe instances, even criminal trials.
When a school violence incident occurs, the types of penalties imposed include school disciplinary measures for school violence, protective dispositions for juveniles, and criminal punishment.
School Disciplinary Measures for School Violence
School violence dispositions are disciplinary measures imposed through the School Violence Committee once a report is filed with the school. They range from Measure No. 1 to Measure No. 9, and the details are as follows.
No. 1 Written apology
No. 2 No-contact order
No. 3 Community service within the school
No. 4 Community service
No. 5 Special instruction or, alternatively, psychological counseling
No. 6 Suspension from attendance
No. 7 Transfer to another class
No. 8 Transfer to another school
No. 9 Expulsion
In the case of a middle school student, expulsion is not possible because of the compulsory education requirement for elementary and middle school, so the most severe measure that can be imposed is Measure No. 8. School disciplinary measures for school violence are determined according to five assessment factors, such as the severity and the intent behind the act. If the offender shows no remorse or fails to reach a settlement with the victimized student, a measure of No. 4 or higher may be imposed.
Protective Dispositions for Juveniles
Protective dispositions for juveniles are determined through a juvenile trial at the family court, and they range from Disposition No. 1 to Disposition No. 10.
No. 1 Entrustment to the custody of a guardian
No. 2 Order to attend a training course
No. 3 Community service order
No. 4 Short-term probation supervised by a probation officer
No. 5 Long-term probation supervised by a probation officer
No. 6 Entrustment to a child welfare facility under the Child Welfare Act or to another juvenile protection facility
No. 7 Entrustment to a hospital or to a juvenile medical protection facility under the Act on the Treatment of Protected Juveniles, Etc.
No. 8 Commitment to a juvenile reformatory for up to one month
No. 9 Short-term commitment to a juvenile reformatory
No. 10 Long-term commitment to a juvenile reformatory
Criminal Punishment
Children aged 10 to under 14 are classified as juvenile offenders under 14 (촉법소년, chokbeop sonyeon) and generally receive protective dispositions for juveniles. However, those aged 14 or older may, depending on the case, face criminal punishment for offenses such as assault, larceny, or defamation.
Why You Need a School Violence Attorney
In school violence, you may be the offender or the victim, but there are also many other scenarios: you may have stood by as a bystander, acted because someone made you, become involved in school violence without even realizing it, or been part of a mutual incident yet end up labeled the offender because the other side reported it first. For this reason, it is wise to seek advice from an attorney who specializes in school violence. And if you find yourself in an unfair situation, it is also important to gather evidence such as CCTV footage and witness statements.
