Sejong City Office of Education Announces Results of First 2025 School Violence Survey

Victim Response Rates Lower Than National Average Across All School Levels
Various Alternative Measures Pursued for Follow-up Actions

The Sejong City Office of Education announced the results of the “2025 Nationwide School Violence Survey” conducted jointly by 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education on September 16. The survey targeted 107 schools in Sejong City.

The online survey was conducted over four weeks from April 14 to May 13, targeting 47,463 students from fourth grade in elementary school to third grade in high school. Of the eligible students, 44,848 participated, representing a 94.5% response rate-12.3 percentage points higher than the national average of 82.2%.

◆ Key Findings of the School Violence Survey

The response rate for school violence victims was 2.4%, which is 0.1 percentage points lower than the national average of 2.5%. By school level, the victim response rate was 4.5% in elementary schools (national average 5.0%), 1.8% in middle schools (national average 2.1%), and 0.6% in high schools (national average 0.7%), each being 0.5, 0.3, and 0.1 percentage points lower than the respective national averages.

The higher victim response rate in elementary schools is a consistent annual trend, which is attributed to elementary students' tendency to perceive minor pranks, trivial arguments, and emotional disputes as school violence.

By type of school violence experienced (including multiple responses), verbal abuse accounted for the highest proportion at 38%, followed by group bullying at 17%, and physical violence at 13%. Verbal abuse was most prevalent in middle schools, then high schools, and then elementary schools. Group bullying was most prevalent in high schools, followed by middle and elementary schools. Physical violence was most prevalent in elementary schools, followed by middle and high schools.

The overall perpetrator response rate was 1.1%, the same as the national rate. The overall witness response rate was 5.5%, 0.6 percentage points lower than the national average of 6.1%.

◆ Major Initiatives for School Violence Prevention

Based on the survey results, the city’s education office is implementing a variety of policies to create a safe educational environment free of school violence. The plan is to reflect the results of the first 2025 survey and establish effective measures involving the entire educational community.

First, the office is deepening and expanding relationship-centered life education, which has been continuously promoted since 2021, to foster a peaceful and healthy school culture. Restorative life education is applied to help students respect and trust one another, thereby strengthening the sense of community and laying the groundwork for healthy peer relationships.

In particular, the relationship-centered classroom program offers tailored activities such as making promises of respect, circles, morning conversations focused on empathy and respect, and book clubs. Through these activities, classroom life education is further strengthened, and students who have difficulty socializing are given careful support to help them build warm friendships.

In addition, the office is systematically implementing customized school violence prevention measures that comprehensively consider school circumstances and student characteristics. At least 11 sessions of school violence prevention education are provided in connection with the curriculum, with at least two sessions specifically dedicated to preventing verbal abuse.

At 47 schools, students participate in musical-style school violence prevention performances, while 11 schools hold experiential musical performances to prevent gambling, enabling students to experience and resolve conflicts, develop conflict resolution and community skills, and learn the values of respect and empathy.

In particular, the office is also providing school violence prevention education in cooperation with dedicated school police officers (SPOs), school violence prevention and practical legal education with legal professionals, and group counseling programs to support the restoration of relationships among students in crisis classes.

Chun Beomsan, acting superintendent, stated, "Society’s interest in school violence is growing, and these surveys are helping to reveal the difficulties students face." He emphasized, "Rather than hiding the problem of school violence, it is most important to create an environment in which students can open up to teachers, parents, and friends and seek help in a warm and supportive atmosphere."

He added, "We will continue to promote preventive policies based on survey results, with the participation of the entire educational community. We are committed to building a peaceful school culture where every student can grow safely with respect and consideration, thereby realizing a happy, violence-free education in Sejong."