'Frozen for Over 20 Years' Teacher Position Allowance Increased... Homeroom Allowance Raised to 200,000 KRW per Month

Ministry of Education Announces Increase in Teacher Allowances and Position Subsidies

Teacher position allowances, frozen for over 20 years, will be increased. The government stated that this increase will improve the treatment of teachers. Along with this, the policy is to continue promoting follow-up measures for the restoration of teacher authority this year as well.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 4th that from this month, teachers' homeroom teacher allowances, position allowances, special education allowances, and principals' and vice principals' rank supplementary allowances will be increased.

First, the position allowance, which has been frozen for over 20 years, will be increased more than twofold (70,000 won → 150,000 won), and the homeroom teacher allowance will also be increased by 50% (130,000 won → 200,000 won). The Ministry of Education expects that through the increase of homeroom and position allowances, the avoidance of homeroom and position duties caused by insufficient compensation relative to the difficulty of the work will be resolved, and the treatment of teachers will improve.

The special education allowance will be increased by 50,000 won (70,000 won → 120,000 won). This reflects the nature of special education teachers’ duties educating special education students, the increased demand for tailored support, field difficulties, and the expanded roles and responsibilities due to the increase in students with severe disabilities. The principals' and vice principals' rank supplementary allowances will also be increased by 50,000 won each (principal 400,000 won → 450,000 won, vice principal 250,000 won → 300,000 won). It is expected that appropriate compensation will be provided for the expanded roles and responsibilities of school administrators, such as protecting teacher authority, handling civil complaints, and responding to school violence.

President Yoon Suk-yeol promised at a meeting with field teachers in October last year that, to boost the morale of teachers nurturing future generations, homeroom and position allowances would be increased and that investigations into school violence cases would be conducted by separate experts rather than teachers. Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho discussed measures to boost the morale of vice principals, who are school administrators, at the ‘1st Together Chat Meeting ? Dialogue with Field Vice Principals’ in December of the same year.

In the school field, there have been many criticisms that teacher authority has declined due to malicious complaints, excessive duties such as managing students’ daily lives by homeroom teachers, and the heavy workload and responsibilities imposed on position teachers, leading to avoidance of homeroom and position roles. There were also concerns that teachers could not focus on educational activities due to the burden of investigating school violence cases. With this year’s increase in teacher allowances and the deployment of dedicated school violence investigators, it is expected that appropriate compensation will be provided for the increased responsibilities of teachers, and conditions will be created for teachers to concentrate more on educational activities.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education stated that in addition to increasing teacher allowances, it will focus on follow-up measures to ensure that the comprehensive plan for restoring teacher authority and the amendments to the five laws protecting teacher authority, implemented last year, are firmly established in the field and felt by teachers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho said, “We will steadily promote follow-up measures for the comprehensive plan to restore and strengthen teacher authority, including responding to indiscriminate child abuse reports and malicious complaints, so that teachers can focus on their classes.” He added, “Furthermore, we expect to restore trust among school members, create a collaborative school culture, and advance public education through instructional innovation.”