Comments on: Arrest Warrant Issued for Suspected Kiwi Pedophile

By: Herod

Herod — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:41:32 +0000

Let’s remember that in Korea, being a victim does not bring with it either huge payouts from the perpetrator or sympathy points from the public. On the contrary, the victim is stigmatized.
So whatever may have happened, I doubt that mother/daughter concocted these charges just for the hell of it.

By: mcnut

mcnut — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:11:00 +0000

yeah i dont get it how can someone get arrested without any proof?

ok mom calls up korea’s finest and says some guy is molesting my daughter!
cops say ok we will arrest him!
that is insane

By: Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog)

Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:02:39 +0000

I’ve been here a while and it is the first time of heard of any foreigner being found not guilty of anything in korean court.

You must not have heard of Kenzi Snider, which was big news. Also, I don’t recall that there is any duty on anyone in the court system to report to you on disposition of cases.

By: swlee

swlee — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 07:39:40 +0000

Bah!
As much as a new zealander will try to pull the wool over your eyes and deny they like kids, as sheepish as they may feel now, theyll fleece a hakwon if they think they can get to do these little lambs.

By: gbnhj

gbnhj — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:19:15 +0000

As any poor ESL teacher slugging it out in the hagwons will tell you, sexual assault occurs in many hagwon classrooms with regularity, but the victims are often teachers.

Come on, fair’s fair - it’s time to serve all the young dong-chibbers in hagwon classes with arrest warrants for sexual assault. After all, there’s ample video evidence of the young tots’ crimes.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:22:57 +0000

#7 tmc1233:

“Also, doesn’t innocent until proven guilty exist here?”

Answer: NO, it does not! The korean justice system presumes a defendant GUILTY. Basic Korean law was borrowed from Nazi Germany via the Japanese. The koreans have never bothered to reform or scrap this travesty because it has served governments (not the people) well over the years.

Add to this korean xenophobia and no foreigner accused of anything here has a snowball’s-chance-in-hell in korean court. The recent acquittal of a GI in the attempted cop rape case last week took yours truly by complete surprise. I’ve been here a while and it is the first time of heard of any foreigner being found not guilty of anything in korean court.

So, against this backdrop, what to make of the parent’s accusations? Especially considering their timeliness against the backdrop of visa-tightening over the esl-boy-lover-in-Thailand flap.

Pass me another ton of salt, pleas….

By: exexpatPete

exexpatPete — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:25:08 +0000

#26 And why do the problem kids hang around? Well, who’d want them at home? The teacher should be solving these problems, that’s why we pay them so much and give them such good vacations.

Seriously, the story sounds a bit far-fetched but if somehow it’s true the guy deserves everything he gets. I just don’t think it’s too likely, and he’s going to get it anyway. Heck, he’s lucky if he doesn’t have a face full of bruises already. If he’s innocent he should book his flight; his picture’ll be on the net by now.

Cameras in classrooms? Love it (I used to volunteer for the camera-equipped class in my old hagwon). But the troublemaking kids wouldn’t stand for it; Mumsy would be on the phone the next day if Junior was being thwarted in his hellraising ways. Good for you for quitting when you did, neither teachers nor students should have the expectation of privacy in the classroom for this very reason.

By: John from Daejeon

John from Daejeon — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:36:35 +0000

Luckily there are cameras in my hagwon. A false accusation ruined more than one life back at my old junior high in the states. Some lard-assed young boys decided they didn’t care much for physical education and filed a false report against a truly great teacher and coach. This man lost his wife, children, house, and all his savings before the truth finally came out, and he was cleared of the charges. Still, with his life now a mess, he decided to end it.

These same young punks told me that if I didn’t quit giving them homework that they might do the same thing to me. I informed the school board of the situation and asked for cameras to be installed in my classroom (on my own dime). They refused citing the rights’ of the students over my own. I quit on the spot, and these morons actually tried to sue me to keep me working as a substitute until a replacement could be hired. I called the state education association, and within minutes, I was released from my contract.

Now, how do you control bullies in a society where ‘face’ matters so much? We have some problem kids, but the other teachers don’t want to dishonor these bullies’ parents by disclosing this fact to them. I’ve been trying to ignore them, but watching the pain and suffering they are inflicting on the other kids is becoming too much for me to stomach. Also, we end up losing some great kids who leave because of this crap, while these problem kids stick around. Status quo needs to change.

By: tbonetylr

tbonetylr — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:49:13 +0000

I was accused of “skinship,” with girl(s) at my public elementary. They told me it happened “a few months ago,” but they just heard about it. They gave me a two-week notice, I told them they must give me 30. So, they did. Their accusations were complete nonsense!

I suspect the parents get/will get discounted rates(or free English) from this point forward. Most Koreans are BAD liars!

By: globalvillageidiot

globalvillageidiot — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:14:47 +0000

“Yeah. If she was molested then it’s obvious what the consequences are, and that scars her for life. If she wasn’t then she’s being used as a pawn by other people and that’s unfair to her as a person.”

Exactly.