The Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union has called on the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to take strong legal action to protect teachers from malicious civil complaints.
The teacher is preparing the class for the students in the classroom. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
On September 4, the union stated in a press release, "Although the 'Public Education Standstill Day,' which was organized by teachers demanding the protection of teaching rights in the wake of the Seoicho incident, marks its second anniversary, malicious civil complaints at schools continue unabated."
The union highlighted several cases: a teacher at an elementary school in Dong-gu, Gwangju, who was verbally abused by a student and, despite having their teaching rights violation recognized, was still sued and reported by a parent; and another case in Buk-gu, where an elementary student formed a private group called 'Ai Innovation Party' to disrupt classes and attempt to oust the homeroom teacher. Although these teachers were cleared of charges, they continue to suffer due to repeated complaints.
The union stressed, "Although the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education announced an expansion of its policy to protect educational activities on September 2, the measures remain focused on prevention. In regions such as Chungbuk and Gyeonggi, the superintendents have declared their intention to file criminal charges against malicious complainants. Strong measures are also needed in Gwangju to prevent violations of teachers' rights."
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