[Violation of Teacher's Rights] Teachers Unable to Speak Out Despite Being Photographed and Slapped

2269 Cases of Educational Activity Infringement Last Year... 90% Increase
Cyber Teacher Rights Violations Continue
School Self-Resolution and Police Intervention Also Difficult

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Two male students attending a high school in Sejong City, Chungnam, illegally filmed under the skirts of five female teachers nine times with a mobile phone in June this year. At an elementary school in Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk, a parent slapped the homeroom teacher three times, claiming the teacher did not take responsibility for their daughter being bullied. The infringement on teachers' authority by students, parents, and the general public has reached an excessive level.

Infringements on Educational Activities Double in One Year... Assaults and Illegal Filming Included

In the past year, the number of infringements on educational activities has nearly doubled. According to the "Annual Status of Educational Activity Infringements" submitted by the Ministry of Education to Jeong Woo-taek, a member of the People Power Party, on the 19th, there were 2,269 cases of educational activity infringements last year, an 89.6% increase from 1,197 cases the previous year. From 2017 to 2019, the number exceeded 2,000 cases for three consecutive years.

By type, verbal abuse and swearing accounted for the largest share at 54%, followed by rude behavior and class disruption at 18.1% and 13.1%, respectively. Representative Jeong stated, "During the decade of progressive education superintendents, teachers' authority has plummeted, and schools have become places of disorder," adding, "Schools tend to keep quiet about these issues, and the police are effectively hands-off, so there is a need to improve the system so that the police automatically intervene when criminal acts occur in schools."

As cyber-related infringements on teachers' authority via social networking services (SNS) and KakaoTalk have increased recently, the Ministry of Education decided last year to explicitly include online acts as infringements through an official notice on educational activity infringements. Teacher Lee (26), working at a middle school in Incheon, lamented, "When I expressed discomfort about a student posting my photo on KakaoTalk and talking about it, the next day, I received a complaint from the student's parent."

Measures Taken and Cases Closed by 'School Teachers' Authority Protection Committee'... Ministry of Education to Establish Legal and Institutional Framework

Although new types of infringements continue to occur, there is still a long way to go before actual resolution. When an infringement occurs, schools hold a 'School Teachers' Authority Protection Committee' meeting to discuss, take action against the offending student, and close the case. Punishments generally amount to school or community service, and cases involving transfer or expulsion are rare. Since discussions are internal, it is also difficult to report further to the police.

A police officer working at the 112 call center in Seoul said, "Regarding infringements on teachers' authority, the atmosphere is that schools handle it first," adding, "As far as I know, the police do not intervene unless there is a special complaint or lawsuit." He also added, "I have never received a related report even once in a year."

The Ministry of Education, the responsible department, also sees the urgent need for countermeasures. Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent, appeared at the National Assembly Education Committee's audit on the 17th and said, "Student rights should be respected as student rights, and teachers' authority should be more strongly protected, with legal and institutional supplements for that," adding, "I fully agree that groundbreaking measures to strengthen teachers' authority are necessary." The government plans to prepare response measures for various educational activity infringements by the end of this year.