A parent has filed a criminal complaint against a teacher two years after an elementary school student was injured during a bean bag tossing activity in the classroom.
In June, parent A at an elementary school in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, filed a police complaint against teacher B on charges of professional negligence resulting in injury, claiming that the teacher was negligent in safety management in the classroom.
In the complaint, parent A stated that in June 2024, their child, who was a fourth-grader at the time, slipped and fell while tossing and catching bean bags in the classroom. The child suffered injuries including a patellar dislocation and received medical treatment for over six weeks, but continues to experience recurring symptoms such as pain, swelling, and numbness to this day.
The parent added that teacher B violated the duty of care to protect student safety and ordered an inappropriate activity in a dangerous environment, resulting in serious injury to the student.
Parent A argued that the classroom floor at the time posed a risk of students slipping while wearing socks, and that the bean bag activity also carried a risk of accidents during the landing and balancing process.
Teacher B, who retired from teaching in 2020, was temporarily in charge of the class that parent A's child belonged to as a hourly instructor at the time of the accident.
Teacher B maintains the stance that the accident was difficult to prevent.
"It was an unpredictable and accidental mishap," B rebutted, adding, "I did not neglect my duty of care as a supervisor."
Teacher B explained that at the time, students were instructed to throw the bean bags only up to a height of 30 cm, and that the classroom floor was not slippery.
Regarding parent A's claims about the child's lingering injury symptoms, teacher B argued that it may have been affected by the student participating in a marathon race last year.
Teacher B said, "I heard that some teachers are so afraid of safety accidents that they cannot do bean bag activities with students all year round," adding, "I am concerned that teachers might become even more reluctant to carry out normal educational activities."
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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