A kindergarten teacher in her 20s who continued reporting to work despite suffering a fever approaching 40 degrees Celsius from influenza, before dying, has been granted recognition for a work-related casualty.
According to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) on Tuesday, the Teachers Pension, which manages pensions for private school teachers and staff, held a benefits review committee meeting the previous day and approved the survivor benefit claim filed by the family of A, a kindergarten teacher in her 20s, on the grounds of work-related death.
The Teachers Pension had deferred its decision at the first review held last month, citing the need for further examination, but recognized the causal relationship between A's death and her work after a reexamination.
A was diagnosed with influenza B on Jan. 27 but continued to report to work for three days afterward. Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she ultimately died of septic shock on Feb. 14 while receiving treatment in an intensive care unit.
According to the KTU, A had been under extreme work pressure preparing for a kindergarten recital even before she contracted the flu. She had to prepare several programs simultaneously, including dance, piano, janggu (a traditional Korean drum), and drum nanta, and was also tasked with moving instruments to a building about 100 meters away. On top of this, she reportedly could not rest even on weekends as various report writing, weekly consultations, and orientation preparations for new students were added to her workload.
Her fever symptoms began on Jan. 24, while preparations for the recital were ongoing. Although it was a Saturday, A went to work to prepare for the new student orientation. She later visited a hospital, was diagnosed with influenza B, and received intravenous treatment, but went to work again the next day.
At the time, A sent a message to the kindergarten director saying, "I got tested for the flu and they said it's influenza B. ...I'll come to work tomorrow wearing a mask."
When her family tried to dissuade her from going to work, A reportedly said, "They're not telling me not to come, so how can I not show up?"
She continued working, sending her family messages such as "I went to work today," "My voice won't come out," and "I'm still in a meeting ㅠㅠ." On the 29th, she worked until evening despite a fever exceeding 38 degrees, telling an acquaintance, "I'm in so much pain I'm crying. I'm trying to go home."
The next day, the 30th, her temperature soared to 39.8 degrees. A left messages to her family saying, "My condition is so bad. Today is the worst it's been during work," and "It's 38.7 degrees... I've decided to leave early after 2 o'clock."
But because of handover duties, she was only able to leave early in the afternoon, after which she visited a hospital. Her condition worsened further, and after being transferred to an emergency room, she died without regaining consciousness for two weeks.
The bereaved family submitted to the Teachers Pension data showing that a total of 45 people—43 of the 120 children and two teachers—had contracted the flu between October last year and February this year, along with statements from fellow teachers that there was an organizational culture reluctant to allow sick leave.
The family and the KTU had demanded recognition of the work-related casualty, arguing that A died without proper treatment due to excessive workload and the closed working environment of a private kindergarten.
In a statement that day, the KTU said, "This decision is the first step toward restoring the deceased's honor," and urged that "the Ministry of Education must immediately take measures to strengthen the public nature of private kindergartens and guarantee teachers' right to health."
