The Supreme Court ruled that recordings made by parents without a teacher's knowledge cannot be used as evidence in court. This issue also became a point of contention in the case where webtoon artist Joo Ho-min and his spouse accused a special education teacher responsible for their child of child abuse.
On the 5th, the Supreme Court's second division (Chief Justice Park Young-jae) confirmed the second trial ruling that acquitted teacher A, who was charged under the Special Act on the Punishment of Crimes of Child Abuse.
A was charged with making comments in March 2018 in a third-grade classroom at an elementary school in Seoul where he was a homeroom teacher. He allegedly said of B, a student who had recently transferred, "B seems like a kid who doesn't go to school. He is not at all trained in learning."
A's comments were recorded on a device sent by B's parents in the child's backpack. B's parents submitted this recording and transcript as evidence to law enforcement and the court.
The trial centered around whether secretly recorded audio without A's consent could be used as evidence. This recording was effectively the only evidence in the case. The Communications Privacy Protection Act states that no one can record or listen to a conversation between others that has not been made public.
The first trial court recognized the evidentiary value of the recording and sentenced A to six months in prison, with a two-year probation period. The second trial also recognized its evidentiary value but reduced the sentence to a fine of 5 million won. The court reportedly judged that "the conversation was recorded to confirm the circumstances of the abuse against the victim, and thus the justification of the motive or purpose can be adequately acknowledged."
However, the Supreme Court overturned the decision and acquitted A. It determined that the recording made by B's parents without A's consent violated the Communications Privacy Protection Act, and therefore, the recording could not be used as evidence.
The appellate court, following the Supreme Court's ruling, declared A not guilty. On that day, the Supreme Court also concluded that the appellate court's decision was correct.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision on this day is expected to affect the trial regarding the child abuse allegations against the special education teacher of Joo Ho-min's children under the Special Act on the Punishment of Crimes of Child Abuse. The Joo couple also secretly placed a recorder in their child's backpack to capture the teacher's comments as evidence.
In the first trial of this case, special education teacher C was given a suspended fine of 2 million won. The first trial recognized the evidentiary value of the recording. However, the second trial declared that the recording had no evidentiary value and acquitted C. The prosecution is currently appealing.