South Korea is pushing to revise the School Safety Act to exempt teachers from criminal liability for field trip safety accidents in cases without intent or gross negligence. Local education offices will take over contracts, safety inspections, and support staff deployment for school trips and retreats, with one support staff member assigned per class.
The Ministry of Education announced its "Field Trip Support Plan" on Tuesday, saying it will pursue revisions to the School Safety Act to limit civil and criminal liability of teachers and school principals to cases involving intent or gross negligence. The plan also includes exempting teachers from criminal liability for charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury.
The ministry concluded that existing exemption provisions are insufficient to protect teachers. In a survey of approximately 6,000 teachers conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, about 70% of respondents cited "legal liability in the event of safety accidents" as the biggest difficulty of field trips.
The nationwide implementation rate of school retreats and field trips fell to 62.2% last year from 65.7% in 2024. The implementation rate at elementary schools also dropped to 48.1% from 57.2% over the same period. In Seoul, the elementary school implementation rate stood at just 7.7%.
A support system in which education offices handle everything from initial response to litigation in the event of an accident will also be introduced. Dedicated teams at education offices will support accident response, victim compensation, and psychological treatment, while designated attorneys will handle everything from legal consultation to litigation response. Support for litigation costs and compensation through the teacher protection mutual aid program will also be expanded.
On-site support personnel will also increase. The current support staff deployment standard of "one per 50 students" will be expanded to "one per class." Local education offices will support direct deployment of support staff and school matching, and plan to secure personnel with emergency response capabilities in cooperation with the National Fire Agency and other organizations.
To reduce administrative burdens on teachers, dedicated field trip personnel will be deployed at all local education offices nationwide. The ministry plans to expand dedicated personnel from approximately 30 this year to 200 next year to support safety inspections, vehicle rentals, and contract execution.
"Field trip package products," in which private companies handle not only lodging, transportation, and program operations but also safety management, will also be expanded. The ministry also plans to expand "customized school trip service" products on the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System's comprehensive shopping mall.
The field trip platform will also be revamped. The creative education network "Crezone" will be upgraded into an integrated field trip support platform, providing integrated information on experience sites, safety-certified facilities, and support staff management functions. In the future, artificial intelligence (AI) will also be used to support functions such as drafting plans and parental notices.
"Field trips are an important educational activity that connects learning inside school to life," Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said. "We will build a safety net that protects both teachers and students and continue to support quality experiential learning."
