Court dismisses suit by teacher fired for smelling student’s hair, touching toes

A high school teacher filed a lawsuit against the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, saying that he was fired due to groundless sexual harassment claims made against him. The court dismissed the case Sunday.

Witnesses claimed that the plaintiff made numerous female students uncomfortable during his years of teaching, including smelling a student’s hair and saying he enjoyed the smell of it. 

He was also accused of touching another student’s toes under the table of a dessert cafe, asking if she was ticklish.

Others claimed that the teacher told students it offended him when they sat cross-legged in front of him or approached him in groups. He demanded that female students approach him alone.

After moving to another school, the teacher reportedly told female students wearing pants to switch to skirts. He is also suspected of calling a student to a shopping center where he held her hand and went around the mall.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education said that the teacher was dismissed in August last year for inappropriate behavior, but the accused said that the claims had no merit.

The Suwon Court dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the plaintiff abused his position as a teacher to sexually harass and prey on his students.

By Paige Shin / Intern reporter (paigeshin2019@heraldcorp.com)