▲ Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education An Min-suk
Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education An Min-suk announced on the 23rd that he will file criminal complaints regarding two cases of educational rights infringements related to parents' complaints at schools within the province.
During a teachers' rights forum held by the Gyeonggi Teachers Union at the conference room on the 4th floor of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education's Jowon Complex in Jowon-dong, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do at 3 p.m. that day, Superintendent An stated, "Since taking office, I have directly spearheaded two cases of malicious complaints, and the superintendent intends to file complaints against the parents in connection with these."
Superintendent An remarked, "Threatening a teacher is a challenge to public authority and cannot be overlooked. We will make an example of them."
On the 13th of this month, Superintendent An processed the "Teachers' Rights Protection Task Force Operation Plan" as his second policy approval since taking office, volunteering to head the task force and reviewing actual cases of teacher damage.
The cases directly directed by Superintendent An occurred respectively at an elementary school and a high school, both involving parents who frequently visited the schools to hurl abuse at teachers and file complaints against them on charges including child abuse.
The provincial office of education is reviewing whether to apply charges such as false accusation and intimidation, viewing that the parents filed complaints against the teachers out of retaliation or groundless motives.
Superintendent An said, "Through directly directing malicious complaints, I realized that a prompt response is necessary in the early stages," adding, "We will create a one-stop system where the superintendent and the education office fight on behalf of teachers so they do not have to worry."
During a conversation with teachers who are members of the Gyeonggi Teachers Union that day, Superintendent An also listened to various cases of teacher rights infringements, such as parents occupying classrooms, workplace bullying by school administrators, and disruptions to teaching rights caused by unnecessary administrative tasks.
Consequently, he decided to take charge of a case involving a parent occupying a classroom at a school in the Ansan area as the third malicious complaint case.
Centered around the teachers' rights protection task force, the provincial office of education is integrating previously scattered duties—such as investigations, legal support, counseling, healing, and protection of educational activities—across departments, building a response system where the education office takes responsibility from resolution to recovery.
Support from experts wanting to join the provincial education office's teachers' rights protection system continues to pour in.
It was reported that more than 1,000 people applied for the open recruitment of 50 "Teachers' Rights Protection Officers," who will take charge of supporting affected teachers on a 1-to-1 basis for the first time nationwide.
The applicants include teachers within the province as well as experts in related fields such as lawyers, doctors, counseling specialists, and police officers.
Meanwhile, about 150 teachers in the province attended the Gyeonggi Teachers Union's teachers' rights forum held under the theme "Restoring Teachers' Rights and Citizenship, Asking for a New Path in Gyeonggi Education," where they held a dialogue with Superintendent An and listened to a lecture on "Restoring Teachers' Citizenship" by Chung-Ang University Professor Emeritus Kim Nuri.
(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Teachers Union, Yonhap News)
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