Korea’s Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against Violence in Schools (Article 2) defines school violence as “any act that causes physical, mental, or property damage to a student inside or outside school through injury, assault, confinement, threats, abduction or enticement, defamation or insult, blackmail, coercion or forced errands, sexual violence, bullying, cyberbullying, and similar conduct.” In plain terms, any violence where a student is the victim — whether it happens on school grounds or elsewhere — falls under this law. Even if the person causing the harm is an adult rather than another student, it can still be handled as school violence.
Types of School Violence
- Physical violence: Hitting with hands or feet, striking with an object, pinching or shoving under the pretense of playing around (assault and battery)
- Confinement: Preventing someone from leaving a particular place
- Abduction or enticement: Forcibly taking someone away through assault or threats (abduction), or luring them away through deception (enticement)
- Defamation: Spreading words or writing in front of others, or online or on social media, that damage someone’s reputation regarding their character, abilities, or background. This is a crime even when the content is true; if it is false, the penalty under the Criminal Act is heavier.
- Insult: Repeatedly making degrading comments about someone’s appearance, using profanity such as slurs, or posting such content on social media
- Threats: Frightening someone with words or messages, such as “I’ll kill you”
- Extortion and blackmail: Demanding money with no intention of returning it, borrowing clothing or stationery and not giving it back, or deliberately damaging someone’s belongings
- Coercion and forced errands: Forcing someone against their will to do things such as buying snacks for others, sharing internet access, doing homework, or playing games on someone else’s behalf
- Bullying (따돌림): Deliberately and repeatedly excluding or ostracizing a specific student as a group
- Cyberbullying: Harassment in online spaces, coordinated attacks in group chat rooms, and similar conduct
- Deepfake sexual crimes: See the separate section below
Deepfake Digital Sexual Crimes
Deepfake combines “Deep Learning” and “Fake.” It refers to AI-generated images or videos in which a real person’s face or body is manipulated to create fabricated content. The creation and distribution of deepfake sexual material targeting students has become a serious and growing form of school violence.
Common Harm Scenarios
- Superimposing a student’s face onto sexual images or videos and distributing them online
- Using the fabricated material to threaten or extort money from the victim
Penalties (under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes)
| Act | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Creating deepfake sexual material | Up to 7 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won |
| Distributing deepfake sexual material | Up to 7 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won |
| Obtaining money through threats using such material | Up to 7 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won |
| Possessing, purchasing, storing, or viewing such material while knowing it is illegal | Up to 3 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won |
| Repeat offenders | Penalty increased by up to one-half of the above |
Following a legal amendment in October 2024, penalties for deepfake sexual crimes were strengthened. Simply viewing or possessing such material is now a punishable offense.
Recognizing the Signs of School Violence
Both parents and teachers can watch for warning signs. If several of the following appear together, please look more closely at the situation.
Signs in a Victim
At home:
- A noticeably darker expression and less energy than usual
- Startling at small things, such as just hearing their name called; becoming easily upset or on edge
- Reluctance or fear around going to school; unexplained absences; asking to transfer to another school
- Frequent bruises or injuries; wanting to be alone
- Sudden or significant changes in grades
At school:
- Being left out of group or class activities
- Spending breaks and lunch alone in places like the bathroom to avoid other students
- Frequently losing belongings or having clothing damaged
- Repeated late arrivals, early departures, or absences
Signs of Cyberbullying Victimization
- Anxiously checking their phone very often and reacting with distress
- Being targeted repeatedly by multiple people in a group chat
- Becoming visibly upset or distressed after reading messages
- Suddenly deleting social-media accounts or becoming reluctant to use their phone
- People who should not know private things about your child already knowing rumors about them
Signs in a Person Who May Be Causing Harm
- Frequent defiance or a quick temper
- Coming home late or at irregular times
- Hitting other students or mistreating animals
What Students Should Do When They Are Being Harmed
- Don’t suffer in silence. What is happening is not your fault. Reach out as soon as you can — to a teacher, a parent, the police, or a counseling service. A phone call or a text message is fine.
- Don’t look away when a friend is being hurt. If you witness someone being bullied, staying silent makes you a bystander. Please tell a nearby adult or contact a support service right away.
- Don’t fight back physically. Responding with force can lead to both parties being treated as aggressors, which makes it harder to establish that you were the victim.
- Don’t blame yourself and keep enduring. Even if no friends are supporting you right now, there are adults around you who will help.
How to Report and Get Support
117 School Violence Reporting Center
Dial 117 (no area code needed) to report school violence 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Refugees and foreign nationals living in Korea can also call. If Korean is difficult, ask for an interpreter when you call. If you find it hard to report on your own, you may report together with an interpreter or another trusted person. Once a police officer is connected to the case, it can lead to a formal report against the person causing the harm.
For more details, see the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) 117 Center information page.
112 Police Emergency Line
Call 112 for police emergencies. English and Chinese interpretation is available directly, 24 hours a day. For other languages, interpretation is connected through a third party, which may take additional time depending on the situation.
Rainbow Youth Center (이주배경청소년지원재단 / 무지개청소년센터)
- Phone: 02-722-2585
- Website: www.rainbowyouth.or.kr
- Counseling is available for students only.
- Counseling is available in Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Mongolian, and Arabic.
- To get help more quickly, fill out the school-violence counseling request form on the website and submit it by email before calling.
Please check the website or call ahead to confirm current operating hours and availability before applying.
Blue Tree Foundation National School Violence Counseling Line (푸른나무재단)
- 1588-9128 (Korean only)
Danuri Multicultural Family Support Portal Call Center (다누리콜센터)
- Dial 1577-1366 (no area code needed)
- Multilingual interpretation and counseling are available in Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Mongolian, Russian, Thai, Khmer, Japanese, Uzbek, Lao, Nepali, English, and more.
- You can call about school violence as well as domestic violence, sexual violence, and other crisis situations.
Wee Class and Wee Center
A Wee Class located inside a school, or a Wee Center run by the local education support office, offers free counseling on school violence, peer relationships, and mental health. If your school does not have a Wee Class, please contact the Wee Center at the education support office (교육지원청) in your area.
One-Stop Support Center (성폭력·학교폭력 통합지원센터)
These integrated support centers provide medical care, counseling, investigation assistance, and legal support all in one place, 24 hours a day.
- Legal support: A team of 50 lawyers specializing in gender-based and school violence rotate by day of the week to provide free legal consultation, including civil and criminal case assistance and crime victim compensation inquiries.
- Medical support: Dedicated OB/GYN specialists and emergency medicine physicians are available around the clock for examination and evidence collection.
- Counseling support: If a victim needs immediate stabilization after a severe trauma, a victim stabilization room is available to support early recovery, with referrals to shelters as needed.
What Happens After a Report
Principal-Resolved Cases (Minor Incidents)
If the victim student and their guardian do not want the review committee convened, and all four of the following conditions are met, the school principal may resolve the matter internally (School Violence Prevention Act, Article 13-2):
- There is no medical certificate indicating a need for physical or psychological treatment lasting two weeks or more.
- There is no property damage, or any damage has already been repaired or there is a commitment to repair it.
- The violent behavior was not ongoing or repeated.
- The incident was not retaliation for reporting, giving a statement, or providing evidence.
From March 2024, regardless of the severity of a case, all school-violence incidents are investigated not by teachers but by dedicated school-violence investigators employed by the education office. In particular, if a medical certificate indicating two or more weeks of required treatment is submitted, the principal may not resolve the matter independently — it must proceed to the review committee.
School Violence Review Committee (학폭위) Proceedings
If a case is not minor, or if the victim student or guardian requests that the committee convene, the review committee under the education office will meet. The committee recommends measures against the student who caused the harm to the superintendent of education (교육장), who must implement those measures within 14 days (School Violence Prevention Act, Article 17).
| Measure No. | Content | Recorded in School Record? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Written apology to the victim student | Not recorded (but may be added retroactively if re-sanctioned at the same school level) |
| 2 | Prohibition on contacting, threatening, or retaliating against the victim or reporting students | Not recorded (but may be added retroactively if re-sanctioned at the same school level) |
| 3 | In-school community service | Not recorded (but may be added retroactively if re-sanctioned at the same school level) |
| 4 | Community service outside school | Deleted 2 years after graduation |
| 5 | Completion of special education or psychological treatment | Deleted 2 years after graduation |
| 6 | Suspension from attendance | Deleted 4 years after graduation |
| 7 | Change of class | Deleted 4 years after graduation |
| 8 | Transfer to another school | Deleted 4 years after graduation |
| 9 | Expulsion | Not deleted |
Additional points to be aware of:
- If the student who caused the harm is required to complete special education (Measure 5), their guardian must attend the education program as well. If the guardian does not complete it, a fine of up to 300,000 won may be imposed.
- After a student who caused harm has been transferred to another school, they cannot transfer back to the original school that the victim attends.
- When a transferred offending student and the victim student both advance to the next level of schooling, they will be assigned to different schools.
- To appeal a decision, an administrative appeal or administrative lawsuit must be filed within 90 days of the date the decision was received.
For detailed legal information, see Easy Law (찾기 쉬운 생활법령정보).
Protective Measures for Victim Students
Victim students can receive the following emergency protective measures immediately:
- Measure 1: Psychological counseling and advice from an expert, inside or outside school
- Measure 2: Temporary protective custody
- Measure 3: Medical treatment and recuperation for treatment
- Measure 4: Any other measures necessary to protect the victim
Recent legal amendments have strengthened protections for victims:
- The period for immediate separation of the student causing harm from the victim has been extended to up to 7 days.
- The school-transfer measure for the student causing harm is now implemented first, to protect the victim.
- If the student causing harm appeals their measure, the victim is informed of this so that the victim’s right to give a statement is protected.
Relationship Restoration
Relationship restoration is a process in which the victim student and the student who caused harm work together — through full understanding of what happened and through open dialogue — to help both return to everyday life. It must be grounded in a sincere apology and genuine reflection. Relationship restoration is never compulsory; the wishes of the victim student and their guardian come first.
Special Support for Immigrant and Multicultural Students
- Interpretation support: When a school-violence case involves a foreign-national student, interpretation support is available. The education office can be asked to coordinate assistance from a Multicultural Family Support Center (다문화가족지원센터).
- Document preparation: Documents submitted to a school or education office may be written in your native language. Please do not hesitate to describe what happened.
- Prevention education materials for multicultural youth: “Dalseo SPO Alimi,” produced by the school-assigned police officer (학교전담경찰관) at Dalseo Police Station in Daegu, is a remote-learning resource covering new forms of school violence and tips for preventing harm, provided in Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese for multicultural youth and their parents. These materials can be found on social media, such as the “Dalseo Police Station School Resource Officer” Facebook page.