Hwaseong City Civil Servant Parent Verbally Abuses Homeroom Teacher
"I am also a public official, I know how to harass someone to ruin them"
Throws Notebook and Pen During Meeting
Education authorities have taken action after identifying a case of teacher rights infringement, in which a parent who came to pick up their child for early dismissal expressed dissatisfaction with the teacher's guidance methods and made abusive and threatening remarks.
According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education and other sources on July 16, parent A confronted teacher B and other school staff in a loud voice at the front gate of an elementary school in Hwaseong City at noon on July 3.
At the time, A, the father who came to pick up his child who was leaving school early due to illness, reportedly complained that homeroom teacher B allowed the child to leave the school alone without checking whether the child's mobile phone was turned on. It is also reported that A refused to comply with the school's visitor log procedure for external guests and left the premises after protesting.
As a result, B took sick leave due to symptoms of anxiety and returned to work on July 8. On the day of returning, B posted a message on the class's internal communication platform, requesting that parents refrain from making abusive or insulting remarks toward teachers. After seeing this, A reacted again, returning to the school and protesting on the same day.
It is reported that while talking with B and three other teachers in the school's civil complaint consultation room, A blocked B from leaving by throwing a notebook and pen toward the door when B tried to exit. During this incident, A also made a threatening remark, saying, "I am also a public official, so I really know how to harass someone to the point of ruining them." A has been identified as a level 6 public official affiliated with Hwaseong City.
Since July 8, B has been on sick leave to receive psychiatric treatment. Education authorities plan to convene the Regional Teacher Rights Protection Committee on August 1 to discuss measures against A and others involved. Hwaseong City has also launched an investigation into A to determine whether there was any inappropriate conduct as a public official and announced that, depending on the committee's decision, it is considering initiating an official audit.
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