Number of Contract Teachers Surpasses 60,000... Jin Sunmi Calls for Ministry of Education Measures on Job Insecurity

Number of Contract Teachers Rises for Five Consecutive Years
16.3% of Homeroom Teachers Are Contract Teachers

The number of contract teachers has increased for five consecutive years, surpassing 60,000. Not only has the number of contract teachers risen, but the number of contract teachers serving as homeroom teachers has also grown, prompting calls for the Ministry of Education to develop employment measures at the national level.

According to data submitted by Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, as of last year, there were 61,001 contract teachers working at 11,963 elementary, middle, and high schools.

Contract teachers are typically hired for a fixed period, either to fill temporary vacancies caused by regular teachers’ leaves of absence or dispatch, or to teach specific subjects for a set duration. As a result, they are exposed to job insecurity and often face discriminatory practices such as repeated short-term contracts.

Yonhap News Agency

The number of contract teachers has increased for five consecutive years: 41,208 in 2019, 43,334 in 2020, 46,689 in 2021, 53,190 in 2022, 55,823 in 2023, and 61,001 in 2024.

As the number of contract teachers has grown, so has the number of contract teachers serving as homeroom teachers. In 2024, out of 223,638 homeroom teachers, 16.3%, or 36,480, are contract teachers serving as homeroom teachers.

By region, the proportion of contract teachers among homeroom teachers is highest in Busan at 23.8%, followed by North Gyeongsang at 19.8%, South Gyeongsang at 18.3%, Seoul at 17.6%, Incheon at 17.5%, and both South Chungcheong and Gwangju at 16.9%.

The increase in contract teachers is raising concerns about undermining the continuity of education and destabilizing the school environment, highlighting the urgent need to establish a stable employment system.

Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi stressed, “Measures must be taken at the Ministry of Education level to prevent the recurring situation in which contract teachers with unstable employment serve as homeroom teachers.”