<W Commentary> What's “Clerical Violation” Korean Teachers are Suffering from?

On June 30th, at an elementary school in Seoul, South Korea, an incident occurred in which a 6th-grade boy assaulted a female homeroom teacher. On July 18th, a teacher with two years of service at a public elementary school in the same city was found by the body. considered a suicide. The teacher is said to have had trouble responding to excessive demands and complaints from parents, and the Ministry of Education and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education are investigating what happened. In South Korea, teachers are considered to be a highly respected profession, with the existence of Teacher's Day (May 15th) as a day to honor and appreciate teachers who are teaching at school and former teachers. “Songsaengnim”, which means “teacher” in Korean, can be literally translated into Japanese as “teacher”. However, many of the respected Korean teachers are now suffering from "clerical violations" that threaten their authority and rights as teachers.

According to South Korean media, on June 30th, a 6th-grade boy verbally abused a female teacher at an elementary school in Seoul, and then punched and kicked her. The teacher suffered an injury that took three weeks to heal completely.

The incident came to light after a victimized female teacher posted it on an Internet community site for elementary school teachers. The teacher wrote, "I have decided to file a lawsuit. I would like the child to understand that 'it is clear that you are wrong,' so please file a petition demanding severe punishment."

On July 19th, the elementary school where the incident occurred held a committee for the protection of religious rights and decided to transfer the perpetrator to another school. The committee consists of 5 to 10 people, including teachers, parents, lawyers, and experts from each school. According to South Korean media, since elementary and junior high school education is compulsory, expulsion is practically impossible, and transferring schools is the most serious punishment. The Education Rights Protection Committee, which is held by the school and the city/provincial education office, targets children who have violated the educational activities of their teachers, and may punish them by school service, social service, special education, suspension of attendance, class change, or transfer to another school.

The Seoul Teachers' Union also criticized the poor response of schools and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in the immediate aftermath of the incident. The Union of Trade Unions said, "If the school is infringed on educational activities, it should immediately take necessary measures to heal the teachers and restore the authority of the church, but the church authority protection committee was held on the 19th after the incident. Now, on the 19th, the victim teacher has received no real help from anyone other than a privately appointed lawyer and the Seoul Teachers' Union." In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "We will take strict measures against cases of infringement of educational activities and strive to protect legitimate educational activities of teachers."

Also, on July 18th, a second-year teacher who was in charge of the first grade at an elementary school in Seoul was found on the body. considered a suicide. According to multiple officials at the school, teachers working at the school, including the deceased teacher, were struggling to respond to excessive complaints from parents.

The Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, pointed out, "The loss of religious authority is a serious problem from an educational perspective. Students now know that teachers are vulnerable to protests from parents," he said. An eighth-year teacher at an elementary school in Gyeonggi-do, a suburb of Seoul, told the newspaper that last year, a child told her, "I'm not interested in Korean class, so I'm going to ask your mother to protest." It is said that there are an increasing number of cases where children are accused of child abuse when they instruct children.

In April of this year, the Federation of Korean Teachers' Trade Unions conducted a survey of 11,377 union members asking whether they were satisfied with their current teaching career. Only 1.2% responded.

In response to the series of events, Minister of Education Lee Joo-ho announced on the 21st that the system and trend that overemphasizes the human rights of children and students will not curtail the legitimate educational activities of teachers. He announced that he would reconsider. Minister Lee said, “The human rights of children and students are being overemphasized and prioritized, causing class disruption. It is perceived as discrimination, and various classes are becoming difficult.Because of the excessive insistence on freedom in private life, it is becoming difficult to actively guide students in their daily lives, and teachers are being assaulted."

On the other hand, the Chosun Ilbo pointed out in a column that "the bill to protect the educational activities of teachers is still not being deliberated in the Diet. If no measures are taken to protect the authority of the church, there is no future for education. That is the current situation in South Korea," it said, calling for an early response.