Teacher acquitted of ”sexual assault on student” loses lawsuit seeking nullification of disciplinary action = South Korea

A teacher who was found not guilty of sexually abusing a student filed a lawsuit to have the disciplinary action nullified, but lost the case.
In a lawsuit filed by a high school teacher, Mr. A, against the Jeollanam-do Provincial Superintendent of Education seeking confirmation of the invalidity of disciplinary actions, all of the plaintiff's claims were dismissed.
Mr. A was relieved of his duties in 2021 for touching a student's body.
After receiving a disciplinary punishment of one month's wages, he appealed the punishment and filed an administrative lawsuit seeking the invalidation of the punishment and the payment of over 39 million won (approximately 4.5 million yen) in unpaid wages.
Mr. A was charged with touching the student's body, including putting his feet under the blanket, after saying to the student who was covering him with a blanket, "Let's check the temperature difference," but was found not guilty in the first and second trials.
The court ruled, "It is true that he touched the victim's body, but it is difficult to conclude that it amounted to lewd conduct." Based on the acquittal, Mr. A was dismissed from his position and had his salary reduced.
However, the court stated, "There is a high possibility that the plaintiff will receive severe disciplinary action for the alleged sexual assault of a student, and there are concerns that the plaintiff may become a victim of secondary victimization if he continues to perform his duties.
The court also ruled that, "Regardless of whether or not there was any lewd conduct, the fact remains that the teacher touched the student's body, and that this was extremely unacceptable as a teacher.
"We determined that the conduct was inappropriate and that our disciplinary action was not wrong."