"Made Students Solve Problems on the Blackboard to Shame Them"... Teacher Accused of 'Child Abuse'

Parents: "Forcing children to solve unknown problems on the blackboard is child abuse"
"Teacher's legitimate discretion, not abuse"... No charges filed
JeonGyoJo: "Fundamental solutions needed... Child abuse law revision required"

A teacher at a middle school located in Gunsan City, Jeonbuk, was reported to have been sued by a parent.

According to the Jeonbuk branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) on the 27th, the Jeongeup Police Station in Jeonbuk recently decided not to prosecute teacher A, who was accused of child abuse. Teacher A was sued in March by parent B for reasons including "making a student solve problems on the blackboard that they did not know, causing embarrassment," and "telling only certain students that they did not have to clean." Parent B claimed that teacher A emotionally abused the student.

The police stated in the non-prosecution decision document, "The report by parent B can be seen as a discretionary act within teacher A's legitimate educational activities and authority over student guidance, and it is difficult to consider based solely on the victims' statements that it hindered the normal development of the child's mental health, nor is there evidence to support this."

The incident was confirmed to have occurred during the process of handling a school violence case that arose among students at the end of last year. Parent B requested teacher A to separate the victim and the perpetrator students regarding the incident. However, under current regulations, a teacher cannot forcibly separate students arbitrarily without a school violence report being filed, so teacher A refused due to procedural issues. Nevertheless, when parent B's request was not accepted, they continuously demanded the school transfer teacher A, claiming that "the teacher is aware that the student is being bullied but is neglecting the situation."

In response, the Jeonbuk branch of the KTU issued a statement on the 26th, saying, "Parents convey their demands by putting pressure on administrators or higher authorities," and "in this process, they use lawsuits and accusations as threats, and if their demands are not met, they carry them out." They also appealed, "Even if the teacher goes through a long period of suffering that could last several months or years and receives a result of 'no charges,' the teacher's mental state is already severely damaged beyond recovery." They added, "The superintendent of education must protect teachers with strong legal measures against parents who abuse child abuse crime reports to harass teachers," and emphasized, "A fundamental solution is urgently needed to prevent indiscriminate reports made with an 'if not, then whatever' attitude. The revision of emotional child abuse laws is urgent."

Cases like teacher A’s, where parents file lawsuits and accusations citing child abuse, are known as the most common form of infringement on teachers' authority. Article 17 of the current Child Welfare Act, which prohibits certain acts, specifies "emotional abuse acts that harm the child's mental health and development" (Clause 5), but lacks detailed explanations, allowing for broad interpretations and causing problems. The education sector has continuously demanded that this legal provision be clarified to prevent indiscriminate child abuse reports.