Two Daycare Teachers Who Habitually Abused 12 Three-Year-Old Children Sentenced to Prison

Daycare teachers accused of habitually abusing children at a daycare center have been sentenced to prison.

On September 15, Judge Jung Seong-hwa of Criminal Division 1 at the Jeongeup Branch of the Jeonju District Court sentenced two daycare teachers, identified as A (35) and B (29), to one year in prison each and ordered them taken into court custody after being indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.

The court also ordered them to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program and banned them from employment at relevant institutions for five years.

The daycare director, C (45), who was indicted on the same charges, was fined 12 million won.

The court stated, "Child abuse crimes are difficult to detect, and they not only infringe upon individual child victims but also collapse social trust in the childcare system responsible for nurturing future generations," adding, "The defendants committed the crimes multiple times despite being daycare teachers tasked with raising children healthily."

"Child abuse crimes have a negative impact not only on the victimized children but even on children who witness them," the court added, noting, "As parents are pleading that the damage from this case is severe, punishment commensurate with their culpability is inevitable."

"However, we considered the fact that the defendants admitted to their crimes, showed remorse, are first-time offenders, and reached settlements with some of the children," the court explained regarding the sentencing rationale.

A and B were indicted on charges including physically and emotionally abusing 12 three-year-old children 114 times between December 2024 and January 2025.

Director C stood trial on charges of failing to exercise proper duty of care and supervision, such as failing to notice child abuse acts even though the children crying were captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV).

(Photo provided by Jeonju District Court, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.