Korea's Ministry of Education has launched efforts to protect teachers and ease operational burdens on field trips, as disputes over liability for safety accidents have discouraged schools from conducting off-campus learning activities.
The ministry said it held a roundtable with the education community Monday at TP Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, under the theme "Safe and Meaningful Field Trips." The event followed President Lee Jae-myung's instruction on Oct. 30 for the ministry to gather opinions from teachers, parents and experts through open discussions on field trip issues.
Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin and Vice Minister Choi Eun-ok attended the meeting, along with officials from regional education offices, elementary and secondary school teachers, parents, students and experts. In her opening remarks, Vice Minister Choi said, "To safely operate field trips that serve as valuable learning opportunities for students, we must consider how society can share the legal responsibility borne by teachers."
Field trips refer to off-campus educational activities such as school excursions and experiential learning programs. However, after an elementary school student was fatally struck by a bus during a field trip in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, in 2022, and the accompanying teacher was convicted, controversy over teacher liability has intensified at schools, leading to a broader trend of scaling back or canceling such activities.
At the roundtable, students and parents emphasized the need for field trips. "Experiential learning where we build new experiences with friends outside of school is essential," one participant said. Another noted, "Experiences outside the classroom are invaluable moments that cannot be filled by textbooks."
Teachers, by contrast, said the legal burdens they face during field trips are excessive. One elementary school teacher said, "In criminal trials, even how many times a teacher looked back became grounds for a guilty verdict. There is great anxiety over a reality that holds teachers responsible even for unforeseeable situations." Another teacher said, "It has become difficult to tell junior colleagues to take students on field trips. We need substantive immunity protections for teachers and state-level litigation support."
Parents also called for structural reform. "We need to move away from a system where individual teachers bear all responsibility, toward one in which education offices and the government share accountability," one parent said, proposing expanded support for safety personnel.
Under the current School Safety Accident Prevention and Compensation Act, school principals and staff are exempt from civil and criminal liability for school safety accidents if they have fulfilled their duty to ensure student safety. However, teachers' groups argue that the current immunity requirements remain insufficient.
Regarding its field trip measures, the Education Ministry said, "We are pursuing a law revision to provide stronger protection for teachers from safety accidents that occur during educational activities. We will communicate closely with the Ministry of Justice and consult with the National Assembly to push for the revision at the earliest possible date."
The ministry added, "Separate from the question of immunity, responding to a lawsuit is itself a significant hardship for teachers. Above all, legal measures to prevent teachers from becoming defendants in the first place must take priority, and when litigation is unavoidable, we will provide maximum support so teachers do not feel burdened in their legal response."
Minister Choi had earlier announced that the ministry would unveil in May a package including legal reforms to strengthen teachers' immunity, expanded deployment of support staff, reduced administrative workload for field trips, and simplified guidelines.
