Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, stated on May 15, "The increasing encroachment of childcare into the realm of education is populism."
Speaking with reporters at Seoul National University of Education on the same day, Lee said, "Parents and voters want schools to relieve as much of the childcare burden as possible, but it is difficult to bear this on the ground," explaining his position.
Lee emphasized, "Restoring teachers' authority must be the top priority in order to prevent the burden on teachers from increasing," and added, "First, there must be clear measures in place that allow teachers to guide students in their daily lives."
He also said, "I am opposed to parents excessively filing complaints about students' developmental issues," and promised, "If parents maliciously file false reports, I will revise the law so that such actions can be widely recognized as false accusations against teachers."
He continued, "We will appoint lawyers with expertise to the offices of education and local education support offices, so that when lawsuits arise involving education officials, the litigation will be handled by the education offices, not by individual teachers."
When asked, "What support will you provide to the university of education if elected?" Lee responded, "I believe the mismatch between the number of university admissions and the number of teacher appointments must be resolved first," adding, "The number of students per teacher should be kept as low as possible, ideally around 15."
On the afternoon of the same day, the Korea Elementary Teachers Association stated, "It is important that teachers do not suffer secondary defamation when problems occur," and added, "Investigative agencies should also be more sensitive to teachers' reputations."
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