Number of Gyobowi Meetings Decreases After Seoi Elementary Incident
Increase Seen in Kindergartens and Elementary Schools
The number of meetings held by the Teacher Rights Protection Committee (Gyobowi), which responds to violations of teachers' educational activities, slightly decreased following the 2023 incident at Seoul Seoi Elementary School. However, the number of meetings continued to rise in kindergartens and elementary schools.
According to the Ministry of Education on May 13, 2025, the number of Gyobowi meetings held in 2024 was 4,234, representing a 16.2% decrease compared to the previous year (5,050 cases).
The number of Gyobowi meetings had steadily increased, from 1,197 cases in 2020, to 2,269 in 2021, 3,035 in 2022, and 5,050 in 2023, before declining last year. The Ministry of Education analyzed that increased sensitivity to violations of educational activities at schools and the mandatory convening of Gyobowi meetings following the death of a teacher at Seoi Elementary School were among the factors that contributed to this trend.
By school level, the number of Gyobowi meetings decreased in middle schools (from 3,108 to 2,503) and high schools (from 1,272 to 942), but increased in kindergartens (from 5 to 23) and elementary schools (from 583 to 704).
The most common type of violation of educational activities was "intentional disruption of educational activities by refusing to comply with legitimate guidance" (29.3%). This was followed by "insult or defamation" (24.6%), "injury or assault" (12.2%), "sexual humiliation or disgust" (7.7%), "sexual crimes" (3.7%), "repeated unjust interference in legitimate educational activities" (3.4%), and "unauthorized editing or distribution of videos" (2.9%).
Among violations committed by students, refusal to comply with guidance accounted for the largest share (32.4%), while among violations by guardians or others, unjust interference was most common (24.4%).
Measures taken against students who committed violations included "suspension from attendance" (27.7%), "school service" (23.4%), "community service" (19.0%), "transfer to another school" (8.7%), "class change" (6.7%), and "special education or psychological counseling" (4.1%).
The main measures taken against parents or guardians were "apology and pledge to prevent recurrence" (37.1%) and "special education" (23.9%). Since last year, measures against violating guardians have been codified, resulting in the rate of "no action taken" dropping from 49.0% to 8.5%.
The Ministry of Education plans to review the effectiveness and limitations of its policies based on the results of this survey, and, together with provincial and metropolitan offices of education, to inspect schools and identify areas for improvement so that policies protecting educational activities can be more tangibly felt at the school level.
Lee Jooho, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, stated, "It is important to recognize that protecting educational activities means protecting not only teachers but also the learning rights of all students." He added, "Based on the results of this survey, we will continue to monitor and ensure that policies protecting educational activities are firmly established and felt in schools, while also strengthening systems for handling complaints and expanding support for teachers' mental health in response to job-related stress."
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