Court denies ex-college student’s petition to invalidate expulsion

A college student who had been expelled over a sexual assault case filed a petition requesting the cancellation of his expulsion but was denied, according to the Seoul Eastern District Court on Sunday.

The court did not accept the request in order to prevent the student from committing future sexual assault crimes.

The student was in his fourth year of college when he sexually assaulted his junior colleague while she was sleeping in a school in April 2017.

The victim reported the incident to the school and police, and the school’s equality committee investigated the case. Professors held a meeting about the incident, and two weeks after the assault, the school decided to expel the student.

After getting expelled from the school, the student asked the victim for a settlement.

The victim decided to file an application saying that she did not want him to be punished to a criminal level since she would not be seeing him at school.

Prosecutors suspended his indictment in May 2017 on the condition that he attend preventive education for sexual abuse, in consideration of the victim’s request and the fact that it was the student’s first offense.

The student filed a petition to invalidate his expulsion in June 2017, stating that it was too harsh since he had reached an agreement with the victim.

However, the court said that the victim had taken a leave of absence and had to attend therapy sessions as the crime was not a light one. The court also emphasized how the disciplinary action is unavoidable to prevent the student from committing future sexual assault crimes.

By Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@heraldcorp.com)