Popular Korean Webtoon Artist Is Under Fire For Secretly Recording His Son’s Special Education Teacher And Filing A Complaint For Alleged Child Abuse

Korean webtoon artist Joo Ho Min is in controversy for filing a complaint against his son’s special education teacher for alleged child abuse.

Joo Ho Min | @homin_joo/Instagram

Amid the recent controversy over the “abuse of educational authority” in South Korea, Joo Ho Min has also been embroiled in the issue when he reported his son’s teacher for alleged child abuse.

On July 26, Joo Ho Min posted a statement on Instagram explaining the situation in detail. First, he shared that his son was placed in a special education class last year and explained that he needed a way to communicate with how the class is running.

Last year, in September, my child’s sudden behavioral issues led to their placement in a special education class. Since that day, my child has been expressing extreme anxiety and fear, refusing to attend school. As my child is a second-grade elementary student with developmental disorders, accurate communication is challenging. Since the special education class is only for disabled children, there was no way to receive information about the situation there. However, I felt the need to understand what was happening.

— Joo Ho Min

Joo Ho Min with his two sons | @homin_joo/Instagram

As the child has communication difficulties due to developmental disorders, Joo Ho Min decided to place a recording device in the child’s bag to understand the situation at school better. However, according to him, the recorded content revealed situations that were difficult to be seen as mere discipline, shocking him. Because he couldn’t handle the situation with just the school, he reported the situation to the police.

Upon listening to the recordings, I was shocked to find situations that were difficult to interpret as mere discipline. To ensure an objective perspective, I sought advice from a total of five lawyers and the child abuse specialist from the Yongin Police Station. While I preferred resolving the issue at the school level rather than filing a police report, the education authority informed me that replacing the teacher based on emotional child abuse judgments is difficult without the results of a legal investigation. Hence, I decided to report the matter to the police.

— Joo Ho Min

| @homin_joo/Instagram

Furthermore, a statement believed to be written by the special education teacher involved also surfaced online, and opinions have sharply diverged. According to the teacher, Joo Ho Min’s son engaged in inappropriate behavior by pulling down his pants in front of a female student during class last September. The female student was shocked and refused to attend school, and the case was reported as school violence.

The recorded conversation captured the special education teacher expressing concern about Joo Ho Min’s son’s behavior. The teacher explained that they intended to emphasize that such behavior should not happen again and not to abuse the student emotionally.

To make the expression ‘habit is very wicked’ understandable, I said, ‘It is wicked to pull down one’s pants in front of a victim during class.’ I also explained that due to this incident, the student (referring to Joo Ho Min’s son) cannot meet friends or have lunch with them. However, my intention was merely to emphasize that such an incident should not happen again and not to emotionally abuse the student.

— Teacher of Joo Ho Min’s son

The special education teacher acknowledged that parts of the recording might have been exaggerated or repeated during the recorded conversation.

Unrelated photo of a classroom | Unsplash

On the other hand, Joo Ho Min claimed that some media reports falsely interpreted his actions as “parental abuse” when he intended to address concerns about his child’s well-being. He emphasized that the matter is currently under trial, and people should wait for the court’s judgment to determine whether the teacher’s actions were appropriate discipline or child abuse towards a child with developmental disorders.

He also apologized to the female student involved and their parents for the sudden behaviors his child displayed. He claimed he is actively working to reduce his child’s impulsive behaviors and will continue to pay attention to his child’s growth.

| @homin_joo/Instagram

As the trial’s outcome is still pending, there are conflicting opinions regarding Joo Ho Min’s decision to file a complaint against the teacher. Some netizens said, “He’s making his son’s school violence seem like ‘unpredictable behavior’ while calling the teacher’s guidance ‘abuse?'” Others said, “If they felt the need to record the conversation, they should have homeschooled the child.” Some parents have submitted a petition in support of the teacher.

Whether it is considered child abuse or disciplinary action will be known only after the trial results are released. As the issue of “abuse of educational authority” is a highly sensitive topic, the outcome of the trial is drawing even more attention.