(Illustration by Park Ji-young/The Korea Herald) A court has rejected the request of a former Korea Coast Guard officer who was seeking to overturn his dismissal after he was convicted of child abuse.According to local daily Herald Business on Monday, an appellate court on June 6 upheld a lower court ruling that found the dismissal was justified. The plaintiff has decided not to appeal, making the ruling final.The Busan District Court last month dismissed the plaintiff’s request, saying his crime and the resulting media coverage had seriously damaged the Korea Coast Guard’s reputation. The court also said the abuse committed by the plaintiff and his wife was likely to do lasting harm to their son.“As a Coast Guard officer who prevents crime and conducts investigations, the plaintiff was expected to meet a higher standard of morality,” the court said in its ruling. “The Coast Guard needs to hold him responsible to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”The plaintiff was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for abusing his infant son. His wife, who was found to be responsible for most of the physical assault against the child, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.The criminal rulings were finalized by the Supreme Court last year.In the case, which came to light in 2023, the couple was found to have inflicted severe injuries on the boy, including bone fractures and a brain hemorrhage, when he was less than 100 days old. The child was also left home alone 31 times.The boy was found to have been abused for at least two months, with messages exchanged between the couple showing contempt toward their son for crying.Police also found that the boy’s older brother, who was one year older, had been abused by the couple.