Ministry of Education to Audit Daejeon Office Over "Kim Haneul Case"

Audit of Daejeon Education Office Following Kim Haneul Case
Ministry Proposes "Haneul Act" to Separate Teachers Unfit for Duty
Focus on School Safety and Preventing Recurrence

Lee Juho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is delivering a keynote speech at the 'Deputy Prime Minister and Metropolitan/Provincial Superintendents of Education Meeting' held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to strengthen school safety on February 12, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The Ministry of Education will conduct an audit of the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder of Kim Haneul.

The Ministry of Education announced that it held a meeting with the superintendents of the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education at the Government Seoul Office at 5 p.m. on February 13. This meeting was organized to discuss cooperation and response strategies between the ministry and local education offices in relation to the murder of Kim Haneul by a teacher at an elementary school in Daejeon on February 10.

The Ministry of Education stated that it primarily proposed the enactment of the so-called "Haneul Act" (tentative name), which would provide a legal basis for separating teachers who are unable to perform their duties normally due to mental illness, following a thorough assessment.

The ministry reported that the metropolitan and provincial offices of education generally agreed with its proposals.

Additionally, the ministry suggested several measures: strengthening the authority and responsibility of school administrators while reducing their burden when implementing such actions; establishing systems to assess teachers' conditions and support their treatment in cooperation with medical institutions; and expanding the installation of closed-circuit (CC) TVs in blind spots within schools, along with other comprehensive measures to enhance school safety management.

The Ministry of Education and the local offices of education have stated their commitment to promptly implement effective measures to ensure that students can learn and live in a safe school environment and to prevent similar incidents from recurring.