



By Park Si-soo







A female teacher at a private cram school, or hagwon in Korean, was jailed for having sex with two teenagers she taught.







A district court in Uijeongbu sentenced the teacher, 29, to 10 years in prison for violating the Special Act on Sexual Violence that provides tough punishment for adults who have sex with those under 13 in any circumstances.







The court also ordered her to receive 80 hours of psychiatric treatment and banned her employment at an organization for children for 10 years.







She was charged with having sex with two boys she taught ― an elementary student and a middle school student ― between 2016 and 2017.







A police investigation started after one of the victims told a school counselor. The victims claimed she had threatened them not to speak out. She has denied this and the claim of having sex with them.







But the court sided with the boys.







"After reviewing claims from both sides thoroughly, I decided to put more credit in the boys' claims," Judge Lee Young-hwan said. "Those violating the special law deserve a tough punishment ― the minimum jail term is eight years and the upper ceiling is 20 years under a guideline set by the Supreme Court."





