As consequences of bullying records grow, perpetrators turn to countersuits for leverage

Students accused of school violence in Korea are increasingly filing complaints and lawsuits against their alleged victims in order to gain leverage during litigation.

The use of such countersuits has increased following a string of publicized cases in which school violence records have hindered university admission and employment opportunities.

One female middle school student in Incheon reported a male classmate for alleged sexual harassment in March 2024. Six other female classmates also reported experiencing similar misconduct by the same student.

The boy not only denied the allegations but also accused the seven girls of bullying him by filing school violence reports against him.

A local school violence review committee concluded that neither side’s claims constituted school violence.

The dispute eventually escalated into court proceedings.

After nearly two years of litigation, Korea’s Supreme Court ruled in February this year that the boy’s actions constituted both sexual harassment and school violence.

The prolonged legal battle, which lasted nearly two years, resulted in the girls undergoing psychiatric treatment.

“The boy’s side even filed additional lawsuits alleging we had made false accusations, and we spent tens of millions of won on legal fees alone,” one of the female victims' parent said.

“Something that could have ended with an apology turned into endless litigation. Even after winning, it doesn’t feel like a victory.”

The number of school violence-related lawsuits has almost doubled over the past two years, increasing by 85.7 percent from 91 cases filed between March 2023 and February 2024 to 169 cases between March 2025 and February 2026, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education reviewed by JoongAng Ilbo on May 11.

The figures include lawsuits filed by both alleged victims and alleged perpetrators.

Lawsuits filed by students accused of school violence increased even more dramatically.

The number of cases in which students accused of school violence argued that disciplinary measures against them were unfair surged from 67 to 132 during the same period, an increase of about 97 percent.

Many students accused of school violence now hire major law firms or attorneys specializing in school violence cases and respond to allegations in a more systematic and aggressive manner during litigation, education field sources say.

The trend has contributed to a growing number of court cases in which disciplinary measures against accused students are either reduced or overturned.

Of 148 lawsuits filed by alleged perpetrators between March 2023 and February 2025, 24 cases resulted in reduced or overturned disciplinary measures against accused students, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Because some lawsuits filed after 2025 have not yet received final court rulings, the percentage of cases in which disciplinary measures are reduced or overturned could rise further.

Many lawsuits filed by accused students go beyond simply seeking to overturn disciplinary actions. Accused students often try to turn the tables by claiming their alleged victims also committed school violence in an effort to gain leverage in court or pressure victims into settlements.

Victims caught in such legal battles often suffer additional emotional distress throughout the process.

One middle school student in Gimpo, Gyeonggi, endured two months of alleged abuse from classmates beginning in April 2024. Two classmates allegedly took money from the student, assaulted him under the guise of boxing sparring sessions and filmed the attacks.

The students also allegedly sent threats through social media involving the victim’s mother and younger sibling.

After the victim filed a school violence complaint, one of the accused students responded with a counter-complaint, claiming the victim had “driven a wedge” between friends.

A lower court ultimately rejected the counterclaim, but the victim continued to suffer additional emotional distress throughout the school violence investigation and litigation process.

“Victims come under tremendous emotional pressure when they are forced to defend themselves against counterclaims in school violence lawsuits,” said Lee Bo-ram, the manager of the School Violence SOS Center under the Blue Tree Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on school violence. “Parents [of the victims] also experience significant stress during the response process.”

Education experts also point to passive responses and limited expertise among schools and education offices as another reason behind the growing number of lawsuits, alongside the increasing use of counter-strategies by major law firms and attorneys specializing in school violence cases.

Education authorities often struggle to carry out educational mediation when both sides file school violence complaints. In such cases, education authorities often either discipline all students involved or close the case without taking any action.

Such cases frequently end up in court.

In one case, a student accused three classmates of threatening to “cut up graduation photos [taken with her] using a cutter knife” and verbally harassing her for six months from May 2024.

The accused students immediately responded with counter-complaints of their own after the victim filed a school violence complaint.

Seoul Gangnam Seocho District Office of Education's school violence committee concluded that neither side’s claims constituted school violence.

A lower court, however, sided with the victim in December last year.

“The committee failed to sufficiently question either the plaintiff or the accused students about the allegations and improperly dismissed the case without considering the [available] evidence,” the court ruled.

“The growing number of counter-complaints has made the expertise of school violence review committees increasingly important, but investigations and interviews are not thorough enough,” said Jeong Jin, director of R.E. Peace Institute of Peace Education. 

Noting that “some committees reportedly pressure [victimized] students by telling them to 'explain everything under a minute' due to their large caseload,” Jeong urged authorities to allocate more staffing, funding and time to committees so that they can properly investigate school violence incidents.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY BYUN MIN-CHUL, OH SAM-GWON, HAN CHAN-WOO [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]