Hello, this is Kim Kwang-sik, attorney at Cheongchul Law Firm.

On September 9, 2026, the Ministry of Education announced the results of the "2026 First School Violence Survey," conducted jointly with 16 metropolitan and provincial offices of education. The census-style survey ran for four weeks from April 14 to May 13, 2026, covering roughly 3.9 million students from the fourth grade of elementary school through the final year of high school, and about 3.19 million (an 81.9% participation rate) responded. The share of students who reported being victims of school violence was 2.9%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year and the highest figure on record. By school level, elementary schools stood at 5.7% (up 0.7%p), middle schools at 2.3% (up 0.2%p), and high schools at 0.8% (up 0.1%p). By type, verbal abuse (37.8%) led, followed by collective bullying (17.1%), physical violence (15.7%), and cyberbullying (7.0%). By contrast, the share of students admitting to perpetrating violence fell 0.3 percentage points to 0.8%, highlighting a clear gap between perceived victimization and admitted perpetration.

Alongside this, a new form of school violence known as the "yacha rule," in which students are made to fight bare-handed with no designated place, rules, or protective gear, has recently been spreading and raising public concern. Stronger students pit weaker students against each other, film the fights, and post or sell the footage online, with some cases escalating into gambling and threats. In response, the Ministry of Education and the National Police Agency issued "New-Type Incident Alert No. 11" in August and are strengthening prevention education through School Police Officers (SPOs).

Taking the survey results and the spread of this new type of school violence as a starting point, today I will walk through the procedure that follows once a school violence incident occurs, how a resulting disciplinary measure can be challenged, how to respond to crime-type school violence that combines video distribution, gambling, and threats, and what parents should check in practice.

[Question] What procedure applies if my child becomes a victim of school violence or, conversely, is accused of being a perpetrator? Is there no way to challenge the school's decision?

[Answer]

1. Survey Results: Record-High Victim Rate, Yet a Declining Perpetrator Rate

The most striking feature of this survey is that the victim response rate (2.9%) and the perpetrator response rate (0.8%) moved in opposite directions. More students say they were victimized while fewer admit to being perpetrators, which suggests that many offending students downplay their conduct as a "prank" or "game." It is also worth noting that the victim rate among elementary students (5.7%) was far higher than among middle and high school students, a point that goes hand in hand with the relatively lower sensitivity to school violence and lower reporting threshold in younger age groups.

By type, verbal abuse and collective bullying far outweighed physical violence, and cyberbullying accounted for 7.0%. This once again shows that not only outwardly visible assault or injury, but also persistent insults, ostracism, and online harassment squarely constitute "school violence" under the Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against Violence in Schools (학교폭력예방법).

▶ Card News Summary In the 2026 school violence survey, the victim response rate hit a record high of 2.9% while the perpetrator response rate fell to 0.8%. Verbal abuse, collective bullying, and cyberbullying outweighed physical violence.

2. A New Type, the "Yacha Rule": Crime-Type School Violence Disguised as Play

The "yacha rule" is slang for making students fight bare-handed with no designated place, rules, or protective gear. As reports emerged of stronger students forcing weaker students into indiscriminate fights, filming them, and posting or selling the footage online, with gambling and threats added on top, the Ministry of Education and the National Police Agency issued "New-Type Incident Alert No. 11" in August 2026. The problem is that students often regard such conduct as a "consensual fight" or a "game," so it frequently goes unreported.

Legally, however, this is far more than a simple scuffle. Beyond assault and injury, filming and distributing the footage gives rise to separate criminal liability, and if gambling was forced or used as a pretext to demand money, offenses such as extortion, coercion, and gambling-related crimes can all overlap. The Ministry of Education has also stated that it will shift prevention education away from simple reporting and information provision toward building practical capacity to handle conflict situations, and will strengthen its cooperation framework with the Korea Communications Commission to respond swiftly to the online distribution of school violence videos.

▶ Card News Summary The "yacha rule" is a new type of school violence in which bare-handed fights are staged, filmed, distributed, and sold, with gambling and threats added on. Students see it as "play," but legally it is a crime in which assault and injury can overlap with video distribution, extortion, and more.

3. Overview of the Procedure After School Violence Occurs: From Report to Disciplinary Measure

Once school violence is reported or otherwise recognized, the school first investigates the matter. If all of certain conditions are met, such as the harm being a minor injury requiring less than two weeks of treatment, no property damage or immediate restoration, no continuity, and no retaliation, the school principal may resolve the case independently. If those conditions are not met, or if a party requests deliberation, the matter is referred to the School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee (commonly the "school violence committee") established at the district office of education.

Following the committee's deliberation, the district superintendent decides on one or more of nine tiers of measures against the offending student, ranging from a written apology (Tier 1) and a ban on contact, threats, and retaliation (Tier 2) through school service, community service, completion of special education, suspension, class transfer, and school transfer, up to expulsion (Tier 9, only where the student is not subject to compulsory education). Protective measures for the victim, such as psychological counseling and advice, temporary protection, convalescence for treatment, and class transfer, are decided at the same time. Because these measures are often recorded in the student's school life record, they can in themselves have a substantial effect on the student's future path.

▶ Card News Summary Minor cases can be resolved by the school principal, but otherwise the School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee decides on measures against the offending student (Tiers 1 to 9) and protective measures for the victim, which may be entered in the student record.

4. Challenging a Measure: Administrative Appeal and Administrative Litigation

Before the 2020 amendment to the Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against Violence in Schools (학교폭력예방법), both offending and victim students could go through a review procedure at the office of education. After the amendment, that review system was abolished and parties now proceed directly to an administrative appeal or administrative litigation. A student or guardian who objects to a measure may file an administrative appeal within the prescribed period from the date the superintendent's decision is served, or file suit in the administrative court seeking to have the measure revoked. To expedite dispute resolution, the amended Act also contains fast-track provisions requiring the first-instance court to rule within 90 days of filing, and the second and third instances within 60 days each.

Statistics show, however, that the success rate on the merits, where a measure is actually revoked, hovers around 10%, whereas applications for a "stay of execution," which halt enforcement of the measure while the suit is pending, are granted at a considerably higher rate of 50 to 60%. As a result, more offending students are first applying for a stay to delay enforcement, and the side effect of delayed protection for victims and delayed separation of offenders has been pointed out. When weighing whether to challenge a measure, it is necessary to consider not only its illegality or unfairness but also the effect such procedural delay will have on your child and the other party.

▶ Card News Summary The review system has been abolished, and measures are now contested through administrative appeal or litigation. The success rate on the merits is around 10%, but stays of execution are granted 50 to 60% of the time, so the impact of procedural delay must also be considered.

5. When Video Distribution, Gambling, and Threats Are Involved: Pursue Criminal Remedies Too

Where, as in the "yacha rule," fights are induced and filmed and the footage is distributed or sold, with gambling or threats layered on top, measures through the school violence committee alone are unlikely to be an adequate response. In addition to assault and injury, distributing or selling footage of the offense, and demanding money or making persistent threats on that basis, can constitute separate criminal offenses (extortion, coercion, operating or aiding gambling, and so on), so a criminal complaint should be considered alongside and independently of the committee procedure.

If the offender is a juvenile aged 10 or older but under 14, they are subject to protective disposition under the Juvenile Act (소년법) rather than criminal punishment, but if they are 14 or older, the ordinary criminal procedure may apply. Where the footage has been distributed online, you can also apply to the Korea Communications Standards Commission for deletion or blocking, and a civil claim for damages can be considered for the mental and financial harm caused by the distribution. Committee measures, criminal complaints, and civil damages claims are each separate procedures, so it is important to decide whether to pursue them in parallel based on the nature of the case.

▶ Card News Summary School violence combined with video distribution, gambling, or threats may not be adequately addressed by committee measures alone. A criminal complaint for extortion or coercion, a deletion request to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and a civil damages claim should be considered together.

6. What Parents Should Check

If your child has been notified as a victim or an alleged perpetrator of school violence, the first priority is to secure the facts and evidence (conversation records, videos, medical certificates, witness statements, and so on) as completely as possible. What materials you submit and what statements you make from the school's dedicated task force investigation and the committee deliberation stage onward have a major impact on the severity of the final measure and on the outcome of any later challenge. Once a measure has been notified, the filing periods for administrative appeal and litigation are fixed, so you must confirm the deadline before deciding whether to contest it.

In addition, if there are circumstances that may be criminally problematic, such as video distribution or threats, it is advisable not to wait for the committee procedure alone but to report to investigative authorities and preserve evidence early, in parallel. Because school violence cases are intertwined with your child's student record, peer relationships, and emotional well-being, obtaining professional assistance from the earliest stage and building a response strategy for each procedure is the surest way to protect your child in the long run.

▶ Card News Summary Secure evidence early, confirm the appeal filing deadline, and for criminal matters, report and preserve evidence early, separately from the committee procedure. Professional assistance from the initial stage is essential.

As the 2026 survey shows, school violence is diversifying beyond physical violence into verbal abuse, ostracism, and cyberbullying, and into crime-type forms like the "yacha rule" that combine video distribution, gambling, and threats. The procedure under the Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures against Violence in Schools (학교폭력예방법) is fast, but that also means the time available to respond is limited. Understanding the procedure and deadlines precisely from the outset, and reviewing criminal and civil remedies alongside where needed, is the way to protect your child in practice.

Cheongchul Law Firm provides legal advice across the full range of school violence matters, from responding to the School Violence Countermeasure Deliberation Committee and pursuing administrative appeals and litigation against its measures, to criminal complaints and defense in cases involving video distribution or threats, damages claims and defense for both victims and alleged offenders, and advice on student record entries. If you need assistance with a school violence matter involving your child, please do not hesitate to contact us.