When a student is reported for school violence in Korea, the consequences can unfold across three separate legal stages — an administrative hearing before the School Violence Response Committee, a possible referral to the juvenile court, and a civil damages claim filed by the victim’s family. Each stage operates under different rules, and a decision made at one stage can affect the others.
This article explains how the process works, what defences are available at each stage, and what foreign residents and international school families should know before proceedings begin.
Stage 1: The School Violence Response Committee
The primary mechanism for handling school violence allegations in Korea is the School Violence Response Committee (학교폭력대책심의위원회), which operates under the Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against School Violence. Since 2020, these committees have been convened at the district education office level (교육지원청) rather than at individual schools.
Once a report is received, the committee investigates and, if it determines that school violence occurred, can impose one or more of nine measures against the accused student under Article 17(1) of the Act. These range at the lower end from a written apology or mandatory counselling, through restrictions on contact with the victim, community service, and special educational programmes, to transfer and — in the most serious cases — expulsion.
The most significant practical consequence of a committee decision is its impact on the student’s school transcript (학교생활기록부). Measures of level 4 and above are recorded and remain on file for a period that can affect university admissions. This makes the committee hearing the stage at which legal intervention often produces the greatest long-term benefit.
A committee decision can be challenged through an administrative appeal (행정심판) or an administrative lawsuit (행정소송). While the appeal is pending, a court may grant a stay of execution of the measures — which has direct consequences for the school record. The Supreme Court has held that when a court grants a stay of execution of a school violence measure, the school must immediately delete the relevant entry from the student’s transcript. Leaving the record intact with a notation that proceedings are suspended is not sufficient — full deletion is required while the stay is in effect.
Preparation for the initial committee hearing matters considerably. Submissions should address whether the alleged conduct meets the legal definition of school violence under the Act, the context in which the incident occurred, and — where relevant — evidence going to the proportionality of any proposed measure.
Stage 2: Referral to the Juvenile Court
School violence proceedings before the committee are administrative in nature and do not result in a criminal record. However, depending on the severity of the conduct alleged, the police or prosecutor may handle the matter simultaneously as a potential criminal or juvenile case.
Students aged 14 to 18 who commit acts constituting a criminal offence may face proceedings before the juvenile division of the Family Court (가정법원 소년부). For students under 14 — who cannot be held criminally liable — the Family Court still has jurisdiction to impose protective measures under the Juvenile Act (소년법) if there is a risk of future offending.
The court can impose ten levels of protective disposition (보호처분). At the lower levels, these include probation, mandatory community service, and placement in a short-term education programme. Higher-level dispositions include placement in a juvenile detention facility (소년원). A protective disposition under the Juvenile Act does not constitute a criminal conviction and is not recorded as a criminal penalty — a distinction that can be important for visa and immigration purposes.
The juvenile court process is distinct from the committee hearing. Depending on timing, both may proceed in parallel. Legal representation in juvenile proceedings is not automatic, but is available and frequently advisable — particularly in cases involving foreign students or families who are not familiar with Korean procedural practice.
Stage 3: Civil Damages Lawsuit
Independent of the committee proceedings and any juvenile court outcome, the victim’s family may file a civil damages claim against the accused student’s parents (who bear vicarious liability for a minor’s tortious conduct) or, where applicable, the school.
Two aspects of civil liability deserve particular attention. First, the outcome at the committee or in criminal proceedings is not determinative of civil liability. Conduct that does not reach the threshold for criminal punishment can still give rise to civil damages. The Supreme Court confirmed this principle in its judgment of 11 December 2025 (Case No. 2025다211430), holding that an acquittal in related criminal proceedings does not automatically preclude civil liability — because civil and criminal proceedings apply different standards of proof and different governing principles.
Second, the statutory definition of school violence under the Act is broad. The same judgment confirmed that conduct constituting sexual misconduct — even where it does not reach the level of a criminal offence — can qualify as school violence under Article 2(1) of the Act if it infringes the victim’s sexual autonomy and causes physical, psychological, or financial harm. This breadth of the definition is relevant both to committee proceedings and to civil claims.
In civil proceedings, the focus shifts to quantifying and apportioning liability for the harm caused. Relevant factors include the nature and severity of the incident, any pre-existing relationship between the students, the school’s supervision obligations, and the extent of the victim’s documented injuries or psychological harm.
Foreign Nationals and International Schools
The School Violence Prevention Act applies broadly to schools operating under Korean law, and international schools — whether established for foreign residents or operating under a special statutory framework — are generally subject to the same committee procedures. A report filed at an international school in Korea follows the same three-stage process described above.
Foreign national students involved in committee proceedings have the same procedural rights as Korean students: the right to present a written defence, to be represented, and to challenge the committee’s decision through appeal or litigation. Where language is a barrier, interpreter assistance is available at the hearing.
In practice, international school cases often involve additional complexity. Committee submissions and decisions are issued entirely in Korean, and the standards the committee applies — including how it assesses the severity of conduct and the proportionality of measures — require familiarity with domestic procedure that families new to the Korean system may not have. The firm has handled school violence cases at international schools in Korea and is familiar with the procedural differences that arise in that context.
A separate concern for foreign national families is the intersection between school violence proceedings and immigration status. A committee disposition in itself does not directly affect a student’s visa. However, where a matter proceeds to criminal prosecution or juvenile court referral, immigration implications can arise and should be assessed alongside the substantive defence. For an overview of how criminal cases involving foreign nationals are handled in Korea, the criminal defence page sets out the general framework.
The Importance of Early Legal Advice
The three stages described above — committee hearing, juvenile proceedings, and civil lawsuit — can proceed in sequence or simultaneously. Decisions taken early, including the framing of submissions at the committee stage, can affect how subsequent proceedings unfold.
Legal advice is most useful before the first committee hearing, when the factual record is still being established and the committee has yet to form a view. A school violence lawyer in Korea familiar with committee procedure can review the allegation, identify the relevant factual and legal issues, and prepare the written submissions and witness materials that will form the basis of the defence.
If your child has been reported for school violence in Korea and you would like to understand the situation before the committee hearing, you are welcome to send the basic facts via KakaoTalk. Initial inquiries in English are handled directly.