Court review finds Korean music teachers used authority to sexually abuse students

Traditional Korean music instructors used their influence over students to commit sexual offenses, with minors among the victims in seven of 11 cases examined in a court-record review, according to The Korea Times. Four of those cases involved victims younger than 13.

The review linked the abuse to instructors' influence over admissions and careers in a closely connected, hierarchical field. Victims described fears that reporting misconduct could cost them educational opportunities or expose them to professional retaliation.

The Hankook Ilbo examined rulings issued from 2010 to 2026 in 11 cases involving traditional music instructors who exploited their authority over students, The Korea Times reported. The offenses generally took place in classrooms or rooms used for lessons.

According to the report, instructors sometimes portrayed inappropriate physical contact as part of teaching or used students' career ambitions to manipulate them. Accounts from victims described an environment in which teachers could shape both their training and their prospects for advancement.

A Seoul pansori instructor identified as Lee received a sentence of two years and six months in prison, which was upheld. In another case, an appeals court replaced a suspended prison sentence for Yoo, a piri instructor at a traditional music high school in Seoul, with one year and six months in prison, the report said.

Other cases resulted in suspended sentences. Moon, a daegeum instructor in Mokpo, received a suspended prison sentence in 2021, more than eight years after the abuse described in the article. Park also received a suspended prison sentence and lost his Seoul intangible cultural heritage designation, according to the report.

One of Yoo's victims told investigators that the field's close senior-junior ties made reporting difficult because of possible retaliation from his professional connections. The Korea Times said its article originated in its sister publication, the Hankook Ilbo, and was translated using a generative AI system before being edited by The Korea Times.

The consequences extended beyond the court proceedings. Choi, a musical troupe leader in Jinhae, received a five-year prison sentence that was upheld, while his victim ultimately gave up traditional music studies, according to the report.