Hong Gi-wol, Gwangju City Council Member, "Urgent Need to Expand Dedicated School Violence Investigators"

61 Investigators, 1,634 Cases Over 7 Months: 'Work Overload'

Hong Gi-wol, Gwangju City Council Member

As school violence in the Gwangju area increases every year, there have been calls to expand the dedicated investigation personnel for school violence.

On the 5th, Hong Gi-wol, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party, Dong-gu 1), stated during the administrative audit of the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, “The response rate of school violence victims in the Gwangju area is 2.0%, an increase of 0.1% compared to last year, and it has been rising every year,” adding, “We need to take corresponding measures through in-depth investigations of school violence.”

He continued, “The most important aspect of school violence is to accurately understand the circumstances of the incidents,” and argued, “It is necessary to strengthen the activities of the dedicated school violence investigators established this year.”

As of August this year, the number of school violence cases in the Gwangju area by type includes 253 cases of physical violence, 222 cases of verbal violence, and 73 cases of sexual violence. Measures taken against offending students include 534 cases of prohibition of contact and threats, 385 cases of school service, and 13 cases of class transfers, with most measures being at the guidance level.

The dedicated school violence investigators in the Gwangju area are composed of 61 members, including 18 at the Eastern Education Support Office and 43 at the Western Education Support Office, mainly retired teachers and police officers, according to Ministry of Education guidelines. By age group, 39 members (64%) are between 60 and 69 years old, and 18 members (30%) are between 40 and 59 years old, with the middle-aged and older generation accounting for over 90%.

However, the number of cases investigated by the dedicated school violence investigators over seven months is 1,634, which is excessive compared to the personnel and age groups, indicating a need for appropriate composition and operation of the dedicated investigators.

Above all, since the follow-up measures for offending students based on the investigation results of the dedicated school violence investigators are divided into resolution by the school principal or review by the School Violence Deliberation Committee, it is pointed out that expansion and operation are inevitable for thorough investigations by the dedicated investigators.

Representative Hong said, “School violence can be the starting point leading to serious social problems, so it must be approached accurately and carefully,” adding, “While prevention of school violence is the top priority, there are practical limitations, so in-depth investigations and strict punishments must be carried out simultaneously.”

He also added, “We need to approach school violence intensively through securing dedicated investigator personnel and balanced operation, which play the most important role in school violence.”