In 2023, a student identified as A, then attending a high school in North Chungcheong Province, collaborated with friends to create and circulate deepfake images of a female classmate's face superimposed onto nude photos.

A year later, the victim discovered the incident and reported A and his friends for school violence. The School Violence Countermeasures Committee subsequently issued a Level 5 disciplinary action against A, which included a three-day suspension from school.

Dissatisfied with the decision, A filed for an administrative appeal. Taking into account his stated willingness to reconcile with the victim, the disciplinary action was reduced to 10 hours of community service, a lighter penalty than the suspension.

However, feeling that even this was too harsh, A hired a lawyer and filed an administrative lawsuit against the local Office of Education.

In 2024, a student identified as B, attending a high school in North Chungcheong Province, posted on social media that a senior at his school was a deepfake criminal.

After branding the senior—who had committed no such crime—as a criminal overnight, B was reported for school violence. He was referred to the committee and received a Level 4 disciplinary action (two days of community service).

B subsequently filed successive administrative appeals and lawsuits, claiming the "disciplinary action was too heavy," but he lost the cases.

According to the legal community on July 3, there has been a sharp increase in the number of students and parents visiting law firms for consultations regarding school violence disciplinary actions.

As school violence disputes, which were once resolved within the school, increasingly escalate into legal battles outside the school gates through administrative appeals and lawsuits, the number of people seeking legal advice has surged significantly.

According to the North Chungcheong Office of Education, the number of administrative appeals filed for school violence in the province jumped from 49 in 2023 to 84 in 2024, and reached 109 last year.

Conversely, the acceptance rate for these appeals dropped significantly from 22.4 percent in 2023 to 8.3 percent in 2024, and 3.3 percent last year.

The number of administrative lawsuits also saw a slight increase, rising from 17 in 2023 to 21 last year.

Legal experts analyze that the government's decision to make school violence disciplinary records a mandatory factor in college admissions starting from the 2026 academic year has led to an increase in procedures challenging these decisions.

They explain that as school violence disciplinary actions now have a direct impact on college admissions, students and parents have become much more sensitive to the severity of the penalties.

In particular, even in cases where the wrongdoing is relatively clear, there are many instances where students and parents are willing to bear the cost of legal fees to file administrative appeals or lawsuits in hopes of lowering the disciplinary level by even one step.

Cho Yong-hwan, an attorney at the law firm Wiryeo, said, "As school violence disciplinary records are now reflected in college admissions, students and parents have become sensitive to the level of punishment," adding, "There is a clear atmosphere of wanting to go through the appeal process regardless of whether the chances of success are high."

He continued, "The number of cases where people seek legal consultation or inquire about response strategies from the initial stage has increased noticeably compared to the past."

Some also analyze that the increase in administrative appeals is a natural consequence of school violence reporting becoming more routine, alongside the impact on college admissions.

The analysis suggests that as conflicts that were once settled within schools are now more frequently leading to formal reports of school violence, the subsequent appeal procedures have also increased accordingly.

Cho Seong-jeon, a representative attorney at the law firm Beopjo, stated, "While the impact on college admissions is a factor, the increase in the number of cases reported as school violence itself can also be seen as a cause for the rise in administrative appeals," adding, "As there are more school violence deliberations, there is a natural tendency for cases to lead to administrative appeals or lawsuits when parties are dissatisfied with the disciplinary action."

The education sector is concerned that this phenomenon could lead to an administrative burden on schools.

An official from the North Chungcheong Office of Education said, "When an administrative appeal or lawsuit is filed, a significant amount of administrative effort is required, such as organizing case records and drafting written responses," adding, "Since these cases can take anywhere from three months to a year to handle, the more legal disputes there are, the more administrative resources schools and offices of education are forced to divert toward responding to lawsuits."