“Thank you for holding on to the father of a disabled child.” Public opinion changed when Joo Ho-min was found guilty in the first trial.

Public opinion toward webtoon writer and broadcaster Joo Ho-min has flipped 180 degrees. Joo Ho-min faced strong public criticism for suing Mr. A, a special education teacher who taught a son with developmental disabilities, in conjunction with the issue of violation of teaching rights in the Seoi Elementary School incident. However, after the first trial verdict, the situation seems to be turning around. Messages of consolation continue to flow to Joo Ho-min, who revealed his feelings through a live broadcast.

On the 1st, Suwon District Court Criminal Division 9 Judge Kwak Yong-heon postponed the sentencing of a fine of 2 million won for Mr. A, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act. Deferred sentencing is a ruling that postpones the sentencing of a minor crime for a certain period of time and discharges the indictment as if it had not occurred two years after the date of deferment. However, the first trial court acknowledged the evidence of the recording file submitted by Joo Ho-min and acknowledged that some of Mr. A's expressions in the recording constituted emotional abuse. In fact, it was determined that Mr. A was guilty of the charges.

When Mr. A was found guilty, Joo Ho-min's wife in the courtroom sobbed in tears. On the other hand, audience members supporting Mr. A also shed tears and lamented with different meanings. After the trial, Joo Ho-min said, "I still have a heavy heart," and added, "I hope this case does not harm the special education teachers who are dedicated in difficult fields, and I hope it is not seen as a confrontation between parents of disabled children and special education teachers."

It is reported that Mr. A, who was found guilty, will appeal.

On this day, Joo Ho-min spoke about his feelings for over two hours through an Internet broadcast titled 'Things of the past half year'. He shed tears, saying that he had experienced extreme hardship due to public criticism and that he had considered making an extreme choice. At the same time, he spoke in detail about the past time, including the background to his decision to be lenient on Mr. A but then to withdraw it. In particular, he expressed great regret over the media's indiscriminate criticism of his son and the educational institutions' blind support for Mr. A. He then shed tears, saying, "In court, the lawyer said that my child did not understand the abuse because he lacked intelligence. It really broke my heart."

After this broadcast, many netizens sent messages of support to Joo Ho-min, such as "Thank you for your patience," "I hope you have strength," "I hope we can become a society where people don't judge and say things without knowing," and "I'm sorry for judging only based on public opinion." sent.

Since then, Joo Ho-min has been taking active action related to the incident, appearing on Kim Hyun-jung's news show channel on CBS on the morning of the 2nd and revealing his feelings once again.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr