[Seoicho 1st Anniversary] One Year Since Death from Teacher Rights Violation... How Has the Education Field Changed?

Memorial Services Held Nationwide Including Seoul on the 18th
10 Months Since Enforcement of the 'Five Laws for Protecting Educational Authority'
84.1% of Seoul Teachers Say "No Change on the Ground"
Additional Measures Needed Such as Amendment of the Child Welfare Act

On July 18 last year, an incident occurred in an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where a first-grade homeroom teacher passed away. Since then, a nationwide consensus has spread among teachers about the seriousness of infringements on teachers' rights, including memorials and complaints from parents.

Over the past year, the government and the National Assembly have made institutional improvements such as the enforcement decree related to the 'Teacher Rights Protection Act,' but teachers in the field say they have yet to feel significant changes. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and teacher organizations have voiced the need for additional legal amendments and support to enhance the effectiveness of the system.

Waves of Memorials Nationwide

On the 15th, three days before the first anniversary of the death of a teacher from Seoi Elementary School, citizens visiting the memorial space set up at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu are moving to pay their respects. The memorial space is located next to the Health and Safety Promotion Institute of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the 20th. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

At 4 p.m. on the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and six teacher organizations (the Federation of Korean Teachers' Unions, New School Network, Practical Education Teachers' Association, Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, Good Teachers Movement, and the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations), along with the Teachers' Bereaved Families Council, held a joint memorial service at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to pay tribute to the deceased. On the same day, teacher organizations plan to hold memorial services at various locations such as Seoul National University of Education and the main gate of Seoi Elementary School.

Earlier that morning, the Ministry of Education and the National Council of Superintendents held a memorial ceremony at the Ulsan Tanibei Hotel and adopted a 'Joint Declaration for the Protection of Educational Activities.' Through the declaration, they pledged to strengthen the protection of teachers' educational activities and create safe schools free from malicious complaints. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho stated, "We will not forget the entire society's desire for the protection and restoration of teachers' rights, and we will continuously communicate with the field and support the establishment of strengthened educational activity protection systems."

The day before, Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon said, "Although the education office is promoting various policies, the perception of these policies in the field is not high," and proposed additional enactment and revision of the 'Three Teacher Rights Protection Acts.' He emphasized the need to amend the current Child Welfare Act and School Safety Act and to enact the Student Customized Integrated Support Act.

Teacher organizations also unanimously conveyed messages of condolence. The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union emphasized, "The current system for recognizing occupational death, which places the entire burden of proof on the bereaved families of teachers, must be completely reformed." The Practical Education Teachers' Association said, "On the first anniversary, no changes have been felt in schools," and demanded "not just words but institutional reforms and a school environment where teachers can properly educate."

How Much Have the Systems Changed in One Year?

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is announcing a comprehensive plan to restore and strengthen the protection of teachers' rights at the Government Seoul Office Annex on the 23rd. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Following the death of a teacher at Seoi Elementary School in July last year, the 'Five Teacher Rights Protection Acts' (Teacher Status Act, Basic Education Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Early Childhood Education Act, and Child Abuse Punishment Act) were amended and implemented in September of the same year, marking 10 months since enforcement. At the education office level, measures such as the introduction of a system for submitting superintendents' opinions, establishment of complaint response teams at each school, counseling services at the Educational Activity Protection Center, and provision of teacher liability insurance have been implemented.

The Ministry of Education states that the transfer of the Teacher Rights Protection Committee from schools to education support offices has strengthened responses to infringements on educational activities. According to the Ministry, about 1,364 committee meetings were held in the approximately three months following the transfer. The number of committee meetings increased from 3,035 in the 2022 academic year to 5,050 in the 2023 academic year. With the legalization of measures against those infringing on educational activities, the rate of 'no action' decreased from 49% to about 10% compared to last year. Additionally, out of 553 reports of child abuse involving teachers, 384 cases (70%) were submitted as 'justifiable discipline,' and the non-prosecution rate increased by 17.9% compared to before the system was introduced.

The Ministry explains that the formation of complaint response teams at each school has established a system to respond to complaints at the institutional level. According to the Ministry's data as of June 30 this year, 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education have established the following related to school complaint responses: school complaint response teams (99.8%, 14,115 schools), call recording phones (95.8%, 13,545 schools), call connection tones (90.5%, 12,788 schools), complaint counseling rooms (90.7%, 12,818 schools), and integrated complaint teams at education offices (100%, 196 offices). Institutional improvements to expand recognition of occupational death for teachers who devoted themselves to educational activities and passed away have also been pursued.

Teachers in the Field Say "Still Far Away"

On July 4th, the 49th day memorial of the late Seo Yi Elementary School teacher who passed away on July 18th, citizens lined up to place flowers at the flower altar set up at Seo Yi Elementary School in Seoul.

However, there are criticisms that the system is not functioning properly in schools. According to the 'Effectiveness Evaluation Survey on Teacher Rights Protection Policies' released the day before by Assemblywoman Kang Kyung-sook of the Innovation Party and six teacher organizations, 52.6% of 5,980 teachers responded that they were 'unaware' of the school complaint response teams organized in their schools. More than half of the respondents said, "The homeroom teacher or individual teacher handles this work without additional personnel." In a survey conducted by the Seoul Teachers' Union through Hangil Research from the 7th to 9th of last month targeting 1,000 Seoul teachers, 84.1% answered that although teacher rights protection laws were amended after the Seoi Elementary School teacher's death, there has been no change in the field.

As suffering from infringements on educational activities increases, the number of teachers taking sick leave or leave of absence is on the rise. According to data received by Baek Seung-ah, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party, from the Ministry of Education on the 'Status of Measures for Teachers Affected by Infringements on Teacher Rights from 2020 to 2023,' 2,965 teachers were processed for annual leave, special leave, sick leave, transfer, or leave of absence due to infringements on educational activities last year, which is 7.1 times the 415 teachers in 2020. In particular, the number of teachers on sick leave increased 8.4 times from 91 to 761, and those on leave of absence increased 56 times from 3 to 168.

For this reason, teacher organizations say that measures such as amending the Child Welfare Act to exclude teachers' justifiable discipline from being defined as child abuse are necessary. In the National Assembly, Jeong Seong-guk of the People Power Party has proposed the relevant amendment, and Assemblywoman Baek has also proposed the 'Seoi Elementary School Special Act,' which clarifies the conditions for emotional abuse and legislates physical restraint and separation of students who disrupt educational activities.

A Ministry of Education official said regarding the demands from the field, "We need to make more efforts to communicate on-site, but it will take more time for each teacher to feel the effects of the policies," and added, "We are working to improve the system."