Seocho-gu Teacher's Family After Suicide: "There Must Be a Reason They Ended Their Life at School"

Press Conference in Front of the Education Office Urging Fact-Finding

The bereaved family of a teacher found dead at an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul, said on the 20th, "The cause that forced a young teacher to make an extreme choice at the school where they worked must be revealed."

The teacher's maternal uncle, Mr. A, attended a press conference held by the Teachers' Union Federation in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education that afternoon as a representative of the bereaved family and made this statement.

Mr. A urged for a thorough investigation, saying, "To end one's life at the workplace, which is an educational field, means there was something they wanted to make known."

He continued, "Whether it was the so-called power harassment by parents, malicious complaints, or excessive work stress, it should be clarified how these are related to this death. If there are any faults in the school's educational environment that drove my nephew to death, they should be corrected on this occasion. Please join forces so that my nephew's death is not in vain and that second and third unjust deaths do not occur in schools."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After the press conference, Mr. A told reporters, "What is worrisome whenever such incidents occur is that they should not be dismissed as personal matters. Since this happened in a public space like a school, if it is dismissed as another issue, the fundamental problems of the school field will not be resolved."

Regarding questions about claims that the teacher's death was due to parental power harassment, he replied, "It should be clarified, but I heard it happens in every school. First graders require a lot of attention, parents visit often, and there are many complaints, so entrusting a rookie teacher with them itself means they were thrown into power harassment or work stress."