Neighbor found guilty of child abuse in noise dispute

The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling that found a person guilty of child abuse for their threatening behavior around their neighbor's children during a noise dispute.

The person was sentenced to a six-month prison term, suspended for one year, 80 hours of social service, and 40 hours of education on child abuse prevention.

On April 10, 2020, the person scolded the neighbor's 4-year-old child up close, asking "Why are you so loud these days? You run around a lot, don't you?”

When the parent tried to leave the elevator, the person blocked the door and pushed the parent to the wall, while the two children were watching.

Prior to the elevator incident, the person had already been fined 2 million won ($1,490) for similar aggressive behavior.

"I admit what I did, but this is not child abuse. It was unintentional," the person defended during the trial. "This is a justifiable act which happened while complaining about the neighbor's noise.”

The gender or the age of the accused was not revealed.