Principled Welcome for Superintendent's Legal Action Policy
"Protecting Teachers' Rights Requires More Than Words"
The Gwangju Teachers' Union on September 12 welcomed the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education's policy to file complaints against malicious and unusual civil complaints, urging, "Swift action is needed to ensure that protecting teachers' rights does not remain just empty words."
The Office of Education had announced the previous day, "From now on, if a teacher who has suffered from malicious or unusual complaints requests it, and if the conditions for filing a complaint are met, we will proceed with legal action in the name of the superintendent according to procedure." The office added, "We will respond swiftly and strictly to malicious and repeated acts that disrupt educational activities, just as we have done in previous cases."
In a statement released that day, the teachers' union said, "We welcome the announcement of a principled stance, but if no further action is taken, the office will face criticism for protecting teachers' rights in words only." The union continued, "There are already two cases reported to our union," referring to recent incidents at School A under the Dongbu Office of Education and School B under the Seobu Office of Education, both of which were covered by the media.
The union stated, "We hope the office will take action after a legal review," adding, "This does not only mean filing complaints, but also protecting teachers who are being harassed." The union further commented, "By resolving the issues at these two schools, the Office of Education is being put to the test."
The union emphasized, "Harassing teachers is an act that disrupts educational activities, and it is not only the teachers who suffer-every student currently enrolled can become a victim." The union urged, "Please make every effort to resolve violations of teachers' rights until teachers themselves say, 'That is enough.'"
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