Kindergarten must pay compensation for burning students with hot soup.

So a kindergarten teacher in Seoul has a 3-year-old student distribute scalding-hot soup to her classmates. Here's the outcome of that.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled Saturday that the preschool should pay 69 million won ($51,900) to the girl, identified as Kim, and two million won to her parents in compensation.

In November 2002, a kindergarten teacher in northern Seoul asked three-year-old Kim to distribute fish cake soup to other children, most of whom were five to seven years old.

Kim spilt the soup and sustained second-degree burns on her arms and legs.

``Teachers are required, in principle, to distribute hot soup themselves, but the teacher made the youngest student help. The kindergarten and the teacher neglected their obligation to protect the children,'' the court said in the ruling.

The court estimated the income Kim may lose because of the burns when she grows up at 37 million won. It set the total compensation by adding 22 million won in medical expenses and 10 million won in compensation, in addition 21 million won the preschool had already given her for surgery.