Ruling finds parents and school liable in bullying

A Supreme Court ruling Wednesday found the perpetrators of school violence, their guardians and the school all liable in a high school bullying case from 2008.

The top court upheld a lower court ruling in which seven students, their parents and the local government in charge of the school where the bullying took place were ordered to compensate the victim.

The previous ruling ordered those involved to compensate 22-year-old Kim, who is disabled, the combined sum of 57 million won ($49,000).

The latest ruling comes amid public outcry over a spate of student suicides apparently spurred by peer violence.

Kim entered the provincial public high school in 2006, where he was bullied for over a year before he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in December 2007.

His classmates called him names, threatened to push him into water, slapped his face and played pranks on him causing injuries. In 2008, the seven students were booked on charges of assault and causing bodily harm, but were entrusted into the care of their guardians as they were juveniles.

Shortly after, Kim and his family filed a lawsuit against the students, their guardians and the local government, claiming that the bullying caused Kim to develop schizophrenia, leading to hallucinations and a fear of people.

“If you look at their behavior separately it could be possibly seen as boys simply being mischievous. However, taking into consideration that the incidents continued to take place throughout a year, it is much more serious,” said the court ruling.

“Kim developed schizophrenia because of the students’ continued harassment. Therefore, they should be held liable for compensation including the cost of treatment.”

The ruling added that the parents of the students involved neglected to appropriately guide their children and were therefore liable as well.

The court also found that the teachers overseeing the students were aware of the bullying, but failed to take any action, leaving the local government in charge at fault for failing to educate its staff.

The ruling did add, however, that Kim’s parents kept him at the school despite knowledge of the bullying, and so were not completely without fault as well.

According to the Teenage Violence Prevention Center, 14,939 students have asked for help with bullying this year. Of them, 520 students considered suicide and 1,392 suffered from depression.

By Robert Lee (robert@heraldcorp.com)