More Lawsuits in Areas with Strong Academic Competition, Such as Gangnam
Perpetrators Account for 66.6%, Victims for 33.3%
It has been confirmed that perpetrators of school violence file administrative lawsuits against the education office's disciplinary actions at a rate twice as high as victims. This is primarily to prevent records of disciplinary measures related to school violence from being entered into their student records.
According to Newsis, on September 28, Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, received data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the “Status of Administrative Lawsuits Related to School Violence Cases from 2021 to 2025.” The data shows that from 2021 to June 30, 2025, there were a total of 438 administrative lawsuits filed due to school violence over a period of four years and six months.
Of these, lawsuits filed by perpetrators accounted for 66.6% (292 cases), while lawsuits filed by victims made up 33.3% (146 cases), indicating that perpetrators filed approximately twice as many lawsuits as victims.
By year, the number of administrative lawsuits related to school violence in Seoul was 62 cases in 2021, 66 cases in 2022, and then surged to 153 cases in 2023, before recording 114 cases in 2024. The number of administrative lawsuits filed by victims fluctuated, with 24 cases in 2021, 15 in 2022, 52 in 2023, and 46 in 2024, whereas lawsuits filed by perpetrators showed a steady increase.
The number of lawsuits filed by perpetrators rose from 38 cases in 2021, to 51 in 2022, and 100 in 2023. Although there was a slight decrease to 78 cases last year, this still represents more than a twofold increase compared to 2021.
By region, areas with a strong emphasis on education tended to have more lawsuits. The Gangnam-Seocho Education Support Office (Gangnam and Seocho districts) accounted for 93 cases, representing 21.2% of the total. This was followed by the Gangseo-Yangcheon Support Office (Gangseo and Yangcheon districts) with 15.1% (66 cases), and both the Western Support Office (Seodaemun, Mapo, and Eunpyeong districts) and the Southern Support Office (Yeongdeungpo, Guro, and Geumcheon districts) with 13.0% (57 cases) each.
Legal experts believe that, starting in 2026, legal disputes will likely intensify as the Ministry of Education’s “Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate School Violence” will require all disciplinary actions related to school violence to be mandatorily reflected in every type of school admission process. It is especially noted that many lawsuits are filed to prevent school violence-related records from being entered into the student record before the college entrance process.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
