Eight out of 10 teachers believe that violations of teaching rights by students and parents have not decreased even after the revision of the so-called "five teaching rights protection laws," a survey found. Even after the legal revisions, 42.6% of teachers said they had actually experienced violations of their teaching rights, indicating a persistent gap between institutional improvements and what educators feel on the ground.
The National Education Commission and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) announced these findings at a joint forum held on the 9th at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Measures to Strengthen Protection of Teachers' Educational Activities Sought Together by the Education Community."
According to data released that day, the number of Teaching Rights Protection Committee sessions reached an all-time high of 5,050 in 2023, before falling to 4,234 last year. However, with 2,189 sessions already held in the first half of last year alone, the issue of teaching rights violations continues. In particular, violations of educational activities by parents have been on an upward trend every year. Teaching rights violations by parents, which numbered 116 in 2020, rose to 171 in 2021, 245 in 2022, 382 in 2023, and 461 last year, an increase of about fourfold in four years.
Following the death of a teacher at Seoi Elementary School in 2023, the so-called "five teaching rights protection laws," including the Framework Act on Education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Act on the Status of Teachers, were revised, but teachers on the ground have not felt much change.
In a perception survey conducted on 8,604 teachers nationwide in September and October last year, 75.5% of teachers said that teaching rights violations by parents had not decreased, and 79.0% said that violations by students had not decreased. A total of 42.6% of teachers responded that they had actually experienced violations of their educational activities even after the legal revisions.
The burden of parental complaints also remained. In a survey conducted on 5,578 elementary school teachers nationwide last year, 68.9% said they felt burdened by parental complaints and reports.
Malicious complaints were also cited most frequently as a reason for considering leaving the teaching profession. In a survey by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations this year, "indiscriminate child abuse reports and malicious complaints" accounted for the highest proportion at 28.9%. This was higher than "low pay" (28.1%).
The forum featured presentations on the status of educational activity violations, the current state of policy responses, and directions and tasks for protecting teachers' educational activities. This was followed by a discussion involving teachers, parents, education administrators, and academic experts, which addressed institutional improvements to protect teachers' educational activities and ways to restore trust within the education community.
Cha Jung-in, chairperson of the National Education Commission, said, "Protecting educational activities is something the state must take responsibility for and build up through institutions and authority," adding, "Relevant agencies must cooperate closely for substantial change on the ground in schools." Ko Young-sun, president of KEDI, said, "To protect teachers' educational activities, mutual respect and relationship recovery among school members must accompany legal and institutional supplementation."
