1st Anniversary of Seoicho Teacher's Death... 99% of Seoul Teachers Say "Teaching Life Gets Harder"

84% of Seoul Teachers Say "No Change Since Law Revision"
70% Say "Difficult Relationship with Parents"
Teacher Work Restructuring, Prevention of False Child Abuse Reports
Seoul Teachers' Union Calls for "Additional Law Revision"

About 99% of Seoul teachers responded that their teaching careers are becoming increasingly difficult. The psychological burden on teachers continues even after the 'Seoi Elementary School Incident.' A significant number cited relationships with parents as the most challenging aspect of their teaching duties. Teacher organizations stated that legal revisions are necessary, including restructuring teacher duties and preventing false reports of child abuse.

On the 8th, the Seoul Teachers' Union conducted a survey through Hangil Research targeting 1,000 Seoul citizens and 1,000 Seoul teachers from the 7th to the 9th of last month regarding the '1st anniversary of the late Seoi Elementary School teacher and education-related public opinion.' The results showed that 98.5% of teachers responded that their teaching careers are becoming increasingly difficult. Regarding the most challenging relationships in their teaching duties, 70.1% of teachers cited relationships with parents. Difficulties related to relationships with students accounted for 16.9%.

84.1% of teachers responded that there has been no change in the level of protection for educational activities even after the enactment of the Teacher's Rights Protection Act. Rather, 5.1% said the situation has worsened. Only 6.4% responded that it has improved.

Following the Seoi Elementary School incident and other consecutive teacher deaths last year, the four laws protecting teachers' rights (amendments to the Framework Act on Education, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Early Childhood Education Act, and Teacher Status Act) were implemented.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul Teachers' Union stated, "Although the Seoi Elementary School incident brought teachers' rights and protection of educational activities into social focus and led to the revision of the five teacher rights laws, teachers do not feel the protection of their rights or educational activities. Both teachers and Seoul citizens appear skeptical about whether parents' awareness will change following this incident, where the victim exists but the perpetrator was not punished and was effectively given a free pass."

They further emphasized the need for related legal revisions and the enactment of the Seoul Educational Activity Protection Ordinance to protect teachers' legitimate educational activities from malicious complaints by parents, provide institutional support for teachers' job performance, and mandate the education authorities' responsibility to protect teachers.

53.9% of Seoul teachers pointed to excessive power abuse culture and malicious complaints by parents as the main causes of consecutive teacher deaths. Next were the education authorities' neglect or disregard of difficulties in teachers' job performance (42.4%) and excessive school duties beyond core teaching tasks such as classes (2.0%). 52.1% of Seoul citizens also most frequently identified excessive power abuse culture and malicious complaints by parents.

Regarding the Seoi Elementary School incident, 98.7% of teachers responded that they do not trust the police's decision to close the investigation due to no criminal charges. 83.6% of citizens also said they do not trust the police investigation closure.

78% of Teachers Say "Parents' Attitudes Have Not Changed"

[Source=Seoul Teachers' Union]

78.2% of teachers responded that parents' attitudes related to educational activities have not positively changed since the Seoi Elementary School incident. In contrast, 16.5% said attitudes have improved positively.

Teachers identified the fear of false child abuse reports (56.2%) as the biggest obstacle to protecting educational activities. This was followed by handling school violence or disputes among students (21.2%), responsibility for safety accidents during field trips (16.1%), and responsibility for public care within schools (2.4%).

45.6% of teachers believed that difficulties caused by infringements on teachers' rights and educational activities will increase even after the Seoi Elementary School incident.

The vast majority of teachers (96.8%) responded that restructuring school duties according to teachers' roles is necessary. The Seoul Teachers' Union interpreted this as "not simply a call to reduce workload but a demand to clarify responsibility so that teachers can focus on their core duties and ensure accountability." Additionally, 58.7% of teachers said that if a special law on Seoi Elementary School is enacted, amendments to the Child Welfare Act and Child Abuse Punishment Act should be made to prevent false child abuse reports.

Furthermore, 97.5% of teachers stated that the enactment of the Seoul Educational Activity Protection Ordinance is necessary. This means that separate spaces and dedicated personnel support are needed to separate students who disrupt classes at each school, along with measures to protect teachers from malicious complaints.