60,000 Elementary, Middle, and High School Students Nationwide Report "Experiencing School Violence"... Ministry of Education Full Survey

Ministry of Education Announces Full Survey Results
Figures Show Slight Increase Compared to Last Year

The government conducted a survey targeting all students from 4th grade in elementary school to 3rd grade in high school nationwide, and about 59,000 students responded that they had experienced school violence. In particular, it was found that 4 out of every 100 elementary school students were victims of school violence.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Education announced the results of the '2023 1st School Violence Survey (Census Survey)' conducted over four weeks from April 10 to May 10 this year, in cooperation with 16 metropolitan and provincial offices of education (Jeonbuk Office of Education conducted its own survey).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is holding a briefing on July 7 at the Government Seoul Office Annex regarding improvements to the school violence case handling system and measures to strengthen the role of school-dedicated police officers. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

This survey investigated experiences of school violence victimization, perpetration, and witnessing from the second semester of last year up to the response period. Among 3.84 million students enrolled from 4th grade in elementary school to 3rd grade in high school, about 3.17 million students (82.6%) participated in the survey.

Among the students who participated, approximately 59,000 responded that they had experienced school violence, recording an overall victim response rate of 1.9%. This is a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the 1st survey last year (responses from the second semester of 2021 to April 2022). By school level, the rates were 3.9% for elementary school, 1.3% for middle school, and 0.4% for high school, showing increases of 0.1, 0.4, and 0.1 percentage points respectively.

The types of school violence experienced were verbal abuse (37.1%), physical violence (17.3%), and group bullying (15.1%) in that order. Compared to the 1st survey last year, the proportions of verbal abuse (41.8% → 37.1%) and cyber violence (9.6% → 6.9%) decreased, while physical violence (14.6% → 17.3%) increased. Additionally, group bullying and cyber violence showed higher response rates as school level increased, whereas excessive approach behaviors (stalking) and physical violence showed lower response rates as school level increased.

The response rate for school violence perpetration was 1.0%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the 1st survey last year. By school level, the rates were 2.2% for elementary school, 0.6% for middle school, and 0.1% for high school, with elementary school increasing by 0.9 percentage points, middle school by 0.3 percentage points, and high school remaining nearly the same as the previous year.

The response rate for witnessing school violence was 4.6%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to the 1st survey last year. By school level, the rates were 7.9% for elementary school, 4.4% for middle school, and 1.2% for high school, showing increases of 0.6, 1.5, and 0.4 percentage points respectively.

Based on the results of this survey, the Ministry of Education plans to implement a ‘Comprehensive Plan to Eradicate School Violence’ and ‘Improvements to the School Violence Case Handling System and Strengthening the Role of School Police Officers’ starting from the first semester of next year. In particular, the ministry will focus on establishing dedicated departments and developing programs to support students’ mental health and social-emotional growth.

Kim Yeon-seok, Director of the Ministry of Education’s Responsible Education Policy Office, stated, “This survey, which is close to a perception survey, was conducted during a period when school violence issues were socially highlighted through media reports and dramas, which likely contributed to the increase in victim response rates compared to the previous year.” He added, “We will ensure that various institutional improvement measures, such as the ‘Comprehensive Plan to Eradicate School Violence,’ yield results starting from this survey.”