CONTENTS
- 1. School Violence | A Matter Requiring a Prompt Response
- - Key Points in Responding to School Violence Cases
- 2. School Violence | Reporting and Investigation Procedure
- - Methods of Fact-Finding in School Violence Cases
- - Handling of Results Following Review by the In-School Dedicated Body
- 3. School Violence | Convening of the School Violence Review Committee and Dispute Mediation
- - Application for Dispute Mediation by the School Violence Review Committee
- 4. School Violence | Measures Against the Offending Student and Response Matters
- - Matters Recorded in the Student Record
- - Wrongfully Identified as an Offender?
- - Juvenile Crime Directly Connected to the Case
- 5. School Violence | Protective Measures for the Victim Student and Response Methods
- - Criminal Complaint Governed by the Criminal Act and Other Laws
- - Civil Lawsuit Against the Offender, Teachers, and the School
- - Evidence to Prove Harm in a Damages Lawsuit
- 6. School Violence | Administrative Stages for Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition
- - Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition Through Administrative Adjudication
- - Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition Through Administrative Litigation
- - Application for a Stay of Execution
- 7. School Violence | The Substantive Value of a School Violence Attorney
- - Review the Case Work of a School Violence Attorney
1. School Violence | A Matter Requiring a Prompt Response
School violence refers to acts committed against students within or outside the school, such as ostracism, assault, unlawful confinement, intimidation, defamation, sexual violence, and cyber violence.
The harm caused by school violence goes beyond mere physical and psychological injury and may have a serious adverse effect on the long-term discontinuation of schooling, social stigma, and one's future course in life.
Our law, through the “Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against School Violence” (hereinafter the “School Violence Prevention Act”), comprehensively provides for the prevention of school violence, the protection of victims, and the guidance of and measures against assailants, and various institutions such as the Office of Education, schools, the police, and the courts are involved.
School violence tends to lead to a complex set of procedures, including verification of the facts after the occurrence, the convening of the School Violence Countermeasures Autonomous Committee (hereinafter the “Committee”), decisions on protective measures for the victim and the assailant, whether to impose criminal punishment, a civil claim for damages, and administrative litigation.
In particular, even though both the assailant and the victim have a right to legal protection, there are many cases in which parents and students do not sufficiently understand the procedures and the means of relief, leading to unfavorable outcomes; we therefore urge you to be cautious and to prevent unnecessary secondary harm.
Key Points in Responding to School Violence Cases
Key Points in Responding to School Violence Cases | Principal Contents |
Definition of school violence and establishment of the facts | - Confirming in advance the scope of ‘school violence’ under the School Violence Prevention Act (verbal violence, ostracism, cyber violence, etc.) and whether it actually occurred - Securing objective evidence such as written statements, recordings, text messages, and CCTV is decisive |
Assessing the appropriateness of the level of disposition | - Verifying whether measures such as suspension of attendance, class reassignment, transfer, or expulsion are excessive relative to the gravity of the case and the degree of harm - The offending party may assert grounds for mitigation, and the victim party may request that the measures be strengthened |
Responding to secondary harm, retaliation, and defamation | - Confirming whether secondary harm or defamation has occurred after the incident in online postings, group chat rooms, and the like - Thereafter, separate proceedings such as a criminal complaint or a civil claim for damages may need to be pursued in response to the secondary offense |
Records management and analysis of future impact | - Because the results of school violence measures are recorded in the student record, they may affect admissions and employment - A response strategy must be formed by accurately analyzing whether the measure is recorded, the duration of the record, and the possibility of its deletion |
2. School Violence | Reporting and Investigation Procedure
When school violence has occurred, a student or guardian, or a teacher, may report it to the principal or report it directly to the police.
If you witness an incident of school violence or come to know of it, you must report or report it for accusation immediately.
Once the matter is reported to the principal and confirmed by the homeroom teacher, the investigation of the matter proceeds through the following procedure.
| Confirmation of receipt of the school violence report > Separation of the assailant student, report to the Office of Education, and emergency measures if necessary > Assignment of an investigator from the School Violence Zero Center and investigation of the matter + Investigation of the matter by the dedicated body within the school > Deliberation by the dedicated body |
▶ A detailed explanation of the school violence reporting procedure
Methods of Fact-Finding in School Violence Cases
- Written statements: written statements from the victim and offending student, and from witnessing students
- Surveys: conducted among students and classes connected to the victim and the offending student
- Collection of evidentiary materials: emails, chats, message boards, SNS, online screen captures of the harm, text messages, related photographs, video materials, audio evidence, and the like
- Medical certificates and opinions: physical or psychological medical certificates and physicians' opinions capable of proving the harm from the violence, and the like
Handling of Results Following Review by the In-School Dedicated Body
Through review by a dedicated body composed of the vice principal, counseling teachers, the teacher responsible for school violence, parents, and others, it is confirmed whether the case falls within the requirements for resolution by the school principal.
Thereafter, if confirmation from the victim student and the guardian and review by the dedicated body have been obtained, resolution by the principal may be carried out.
Requirements for resolution by the principal
3. School Violence | Convening of the School Violence Review Committee and Dispute Mediation
Where a school violence case does not satisfy the requirements for resolution by the school principal, resolution through the School Violence Countermeasures Review Committee is required.
The Review Committee is composed of 10 to 50 members, and at least one third of all members are appointed from among the parents of students enrolled at schools within the district.
The Review Committee convenes with the attendance of a majority of its enrolled members and adopts resolutions by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members present.
The matters subject to review are as follows.
- Prevention of and countermeasures against school violence
- Protection of the victim student
- Education, guidance, and discipline of the offending student
- Mediation of disputes between the victim student and the offending student
- Recommendations from the principal regarding the prevention of and countermeasures against school violence
Application for Dispute Mediation by the School Violence Review Committee
The victim student, the offending student, the guardian, and others may apply to the School Violence Review Committee for dispute mediation.
In this case, dispute mediation must commence within 5 days; however, if one of the parties to the dispute refuses mediation, or if the victim student files a criminal complaint or accusation against the offending student or institutes a civil lawsuit, the dispute mediation itself may not commence or may be suspended.
4. School Violence | Measures Against the Offending Student and Response Matters
Based on the facts and the relevant statutes, the School Violence Review Committee imposes disciplinary measures according to criteria such as the seriousness, continuity, and intentionality of the school violence, the degree of remorse, and the degree of reconciliation.
The following measures are imposed on the offending student in school violence cases (multiple measures may be imposed concurrently).
- Written apology to the victim student
- Prohibition of contact with, intimidation of, and retaliation against the victim student and the reporting or accusing student
- Service within the school
- Community service
- Completion of special education or psychological treatment by experts or institutions inside or outside the school
- Suspension of attendance
- Class reassignment
- Transfer
- Expulsion
Because the School Violence Review Committee has a quasi-judicial character, an unfavorable decision may be received without sufficient explanation and submission of materials.
Matters Recorded in the Student Record
Measures against the offender in school violence are recorded in the student record.
A written apology to the victim student, prohibition of retaliation against the victim student and others, and service within the school may be deleted upon graduation, but measures of the fourth category or higher are deleted between 2 and 4 years after the date of graduation.
As the time of deletion varies depending on the age of the offending student, 🔗School Violence Disciplinary Measures, please confirm the time of deletion.
Wrongfully Identified as an Offender?
If you have been wrongfully identified as an offender in a school violence case and have received an unfavorable result due to the measures of the 🔗School Violence Countermeasures Review Committee, you may challenge them by filing for administrative adjudication or administrative litigation through 🔗School Violence Administrative Litigation.
Juvenile Crime Directly Connected to the Case
An offending student in a school violence case must also keep in mind the possibility of being punished, as the matter is directly connected to 🔗Juvenile Crime cases.
Depending on the age of the offending student, a protective disposition may be imposed, and even if criminal liability is exempted, administrative disadvantages such as in-school discipline and recording in the student record remain.
Those aged 10 or older but under 14 are minors not subject to criminal punishment, for whom only a protective disposition, rather than criminal punishment, is possible; however, where the offender is 14 or older, you must note that they are subject to both the Juvenile Act and the Criminal Act.
5. School Violence | Protective Measures for the Victim Student and Response Methods
Where protection of the victim student is necessary, the School Violence Review Committee may request the following protective measures and decisions on such measures.
Any absence required for such measures is counted as included in the number of attendance days.
Criminal Complaint Governed by the Criminal Act and Other Laws
A victim of school violence may, separately from the measures of the School Violence Review Committee, concurrently pursue a criminal complaint against the 🔗School Violence Offender.
Where a criminal complaint is filed for assault, infliction of bodily injury, coercion, defamation, intimidation, a sexual offense, or the like, and the age of the offending student falls within the age subject to criminal punishment, the matter is investigated by an investigative agency as a criminal case, and the prosecutor, where necessary, indicts the offender and a criminal trial proceeds.
In this case, the offending student may become subject to a protective disposition under the Juvenile Act, or may be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, among others, in a formal trial.
Furthermore, in the event of a guilty judgment, a compensation order may be issued for matters such as material damage arising from the criminal act and compensation for treatment costs.
Civil Lawsuit Against the Offender, Teachers, and the School
A civil claim for damages may be brought for the harm suffered by the victim as a result of school violence.
Not only the offender himself or herself, but also the parents, as statutory representatives, may bear joint liability where they have failed to fulfill their duty of supervision.
In addition, if the school knew of the occurrence of the violence yet left it unaddressed, liability for compensation may also arise on the part of the teachers and the school or the office of education (in the case of national or public schools).
Evidence to Prove Harm in a Damages Lawsuit
- The fact of harm caused by school violence
- The causal relationship between the offending act and the harm
- The degree of psychological harm
- Treatment costs, future treatment costs, and the like
Given the nature of such cases, effective compensation is possible only when the matter is comprehensively examined, including an investigation of the offender's assets and the feasibility of compulsory execution.
6. School Violence | Administrative Stages for Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition
If you are considering challenging the decision of the School Violence Review Committee, you may contest the matter by seeking revocation of the disciplinary measure through administrative adjudication filed with the administrative appeals commission of the office of education, and through administrative litigation.
Because serious disciplinary measures such as transfer and expulsion are directly connected to the student's right to education and human rights, revocation of the disposition is possible if its illegality or impropriety can be proven.
However, in administrative litigation, it is necessary to prove matters such as the illegality of the facts, procedural defects, and violation of the principle of proportionality in the discipline, so professional legal argument is essential.
Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition Through Administrative Adjudication
-A right-relief procedure brought before the administrative appeals commission by a citizen whose rights or interests have been infringed by an unlawful or improper disposition or omission of an administrative agency
-Both the offending student and the victim student may file for administrative adjudication against the measures of the superintendent of education
-Filing must be made within 90 days from the date of becoming aware that the disposition by the superintendent of education was made (within 180 days from the date the disposition was made)
Challenging the Review Committee's Disposition Through Administrative Litigation
-A procedure for relief against the infringement of a citizen's rights or interests caused by an unlawful disposition of an administrative agency or by other exercise or non-exercise of public authority
-Both the offending student and the victim student may institute administrative litigation against the measures of the superintendent of education (plaintiff : the student seeking revocation or invalidation of the disposition / defendant : the superintendent of education)
-Filing must be made within 90 days from the date of becoming aware that the disposition by the superintendent of education was made (within 1 year from the date the disposition was made)
Application for a Stay of Execution
In this case, in order to suspend the effect, execution, or procedure of the disposition, a stay-of-execution decision by the administrative appeals commission or the court is required.
If the offending student's application for a stay of execution is granted, the victim student may request separation from the offending student.
7. School Violence | The Substantive Value of a School Violence Attorney
School violence is a sensitive matter that can leave irreparable harm on both the victim and the offender.
Before the matter escalates into administrative adjudication and litigation, it is advisable to determine the direction of response by obtaining the advice of a specialist attorney from the stage of the School Violence Review Committee.
Substantive protection of rights and interests is possible only when a school violence attorney secures the necessary evidence and actively exercises procedural rights.
Review the Case Work of a School Violence Attorney
Through the assistance of a school violence attorney with experience as an expert member of an office of education's School Violence Review Committee and as a student disciplinary mediation member, you may secure substantive protection of your rights and interests at each stage.
🔗A case in which substantial damages were obtained from a school violence offending student
🔗Assistance with revocation of the disciplinary measure for a school violence offender
