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The Constitutional Court has ruled that a provision of the law that prohibits employment at daycare centers for 10 years is unconstitutional if a fine is confirmed for emotional child abuse.
Yesterday (29th), the Constitutional Court ruled that the constitutional complaint filed by Mr. A, who was a daycare teacher at a daycare center, against some provisions of Articles 16, 20, and 48 of the Infant Care Act, "excessively restricts basic rights" was declared unconstitutional.
Claimant A was charged with violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act while working as a childcare teacher and was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won, and the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2019.
After that, Mr. A filed a constitutional complaint in the same year, saying that the employment restriction provisions of the Infant Care Act "infringe on freedom of work."
The current Infant Care Act prohibits a person sentenced to a fine for “emotional abuse that harms a child’s mental health and development” from working at a daycare center for 10 years.
It is not possible to re-qualify as a childcare teacher for the same period.
The Constitutional Court pointed out that although the legislative purpose of 'preventing child abuse' was justified, "it is difficult to conclude that the same type of crime will be committed again in the future based on the relevant criminal history."
He added, "It can be an overly harsh restriction for criminals with a light crime and low risk of recidivism.
In the meantime, he suggested a specific and individual review of the risk of recidivism and the degree of employment restrictions.
However, Justices Seon-ae Lee, Eun-ae Lee, and Young-jin Lee gave a minority opinion that the restrictions on employment were not excessive, saying, "The need to protect children under the age of six is more recognized under the Infant Care Act."
In 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions of the Child Welfare Act, which uniformly barred child abuse-related offenders from working at sports facilities or schools for 10 years, were also unconstitutional for a similar purpose. It was amended to issue an order to restrict employment within the scope of
On the other hand, there have been cases of child abusers not receiving employment restrictions or orders for treatment programs because they were not the 'guardians' of the victims, causing controversy until recently.
In the legal circle, it was pointed out that the Child Abuse Punishment Act, which was created to strengthen the punishment of child abuse, only defined abuse by guardians as child abuse crimes, creating a 'blind spot'.