Elementary school principal gets 8 years for sexually abusing students
Published: 26 Sep. 2025, 19:23
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[JOONGANG ILBO]
An elementary school principal has been sentenced to prison for molesting and sexually abusing young students in his office.
The Chuncheon District Court’s Wonju branch sentenced the man to eight years in prison for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse and the Child Welfare Act, according to legal sources on Friday.
The court also ordered him to complete 80 hours each of sex offender and child abuse rehabilitation programs and banned him from working at child and youth-related institutions for 10 years.
The principal was found guilty of assaulting 10 victims — all under the age of 13 — roughly 250 times between early April and late December 2023. He was also charged with sexual harassment and other forms of sexual abuse.
Despite being a mandatory reporter of child abuse, the principal targeted young students and committed the offenses after taking the position in September 2022.
Friends of one of the victims recorded the abuse to help the victim, created a group chat to share information and collected evidence, according to investigators.
The offenses came to light when one of the victims, after hearing about another student's experience, confided in their parents.
In court, the principal argued that the roughly 250 instances of abuse were not clearly specified, claiming nearly 200 of them infringed on his right to defense. The court rejected the claim, citing the consistency of the victims’ testimonies.
“The nature of the crimes is extremely serious, given where they occurred, how they were committed, the relationship between the person and the victims and the ages of the victims,” the court said. “There are concerns that the abuse may negatively affect the victims’ healthy development.”
The court added that the principal had not been forgiven by the victims and that their parents had submitted petitions calling for a heavy sentence.
“There is no evidence that the defendant made any effort toward restitution,” the court said.
The principal was dismissed on Feb. 12 following a disciplinary hearing.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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