A special education teacher, identified as A, accused of emotionally abusing the autistic son of famous webtoon artist Jo Ho-min, was acquitted in the second trial.
The Suwon District Court Criminal Appeals Division 6-2, presided over by Judge Kim Eun-jeong, on the 13th, overturned the first trial's verdict that had suspended a fine of 2 million won against A, who was indicted on charges of child abuse, and declared A not guilty.
Jo Ho-min filed a complaint against A, the special education teacher, in September 2022, alleging that A had abused his son, who shows autistic symptoms. This incident gained widespread attention at the end of July 2023, a year later.
At the time, the first trial court ruled that recording conversations between individuals that were not made public constituted illegally collected evidence but recognized the evidentiary value considering the exceptional circumstances of the incident, including the fact that Jo Ho-min's child is autistic. In particular, the court found emotional abuse allegations credible based on A's remarks, "You have a very bad habit. I'm talking about you. Ugh, I hate it. I hate it to death. I hate you!"
In response, on February 1 last year, Judge Kwak Yong-heon of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 9 suspended the sentence of a fine of 2 million won during the first trial, but A appealed the first trial verdict, saying it was unacceptable, and even raised a request for constitutional review to the Constitutional Court.
As the trial moved to the second instance, the appellate court overturned the original ruling and declared A not guilty.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]