'Teacher Committee Members for the Teachers' Rights Protection Committee': 109 in Seoul, 11 in Sejong... Only 1 in Gwangju?

KTU: "Teachers' Voices Excluded... Urgent Measures Needed"
Metropolitan Office of Education: "Positive Review for Effective Response"

The Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) has criticized the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education for its lack of sensitivity to teachers' rights, pointing out that there are too few teacher representatives on the Teachers' Rights Protection Committee under the office. In response, the office stated that it would positively consider increasing the number of teacher representatives.

Gwangju Office of Education building.

According to information on the 2024 Teachers' Rights Protection Committee in Gwangju, obtained by the Gwangju branch of the KTU through a request for information disclosure on the 5th, only one out of 63 committee members is a teacher representative. Despite the committee's role as a key body to protect teachers' educational activities, teacher participation is almost entirely excluded.

A KTU official said in a phone interview with this outlet, "In Seoul, 109 out of 345 committee members are teacher representatives (including principals), and in Sejong, it's 11 out of 28, but in Gwangju, it's only 1 out of 63," adding, "This clearly shows the serious lack of sensitivity to teachers' rights at the Gwangju Office of Education."

The KTU pointed out, "Most teachers who experience violations of their rights are regular teachers, yet there are hardly any teacher representatives on the Teachers' Rights Protection Committees in the local education support offices under the metropolitan office," and added, "In such circumstances, it is impossible to reflect teachers' voices or take the lead in protecting them." The union further stated, "We plan to request the publication of a casebook on teachers' rights violations from the office," emphasizing, "It is necessary to thoroughly analyze the causes of these violations and review countermeasures."

In 2024, there were 149 recognized cases of teachers' rights violations in Gwangju, which means an average of 0.8 cases per day based on 190 school days per year. The KTU demanded a proactive response, saying, "Teachers' rights violations continue even after the Seoicho incident."

An official from the metropolitan office said regarding the lack of teacher representatives, "We will consider this positively." On the request to publish a casebook on teachers' rights violations, the official explained, "There are privacy concerns," and added, "We plan to focus on expanding preventive education and training." The official also said, "We are operating a field support team to respond effectively to cases of teachers' rights violations," and added, "We will continue to strengthen support to ensure problem-solving and healing."