KOR
The reality of education has been laid bare.
On the episode of SBS's "Unanswered Questions" that aired yesterday (July 11), the program tracked the current state of the educational field in 2026.
In April, a teacher working at an elementary school in Jeju was horrified to find a sticky, foul-smelling substance in a tumbler that had been cleaned the previous day. An investigation revealed the substance to be human semen.
The teacher took sick leave due to anxiety and fear. However, two months later, someone broke into the classroom where a substitute teacher was conducting a class in the teacher's place. This time, traces of urine were left on the teacher's chair.
The investigation identified the perpetrator as a first-year male student at a nearby high school. He denied intentional wrongdoing, claiming he had entered the elementary school because he needed to use the restroom. However, the victim was left trembling in fear, wondering why such acts were committed against her twice. Because the perpetrator was a minor under the age of 16, his name, face, and true motives remained unknown, further deepening the victim's anxiety.
Darker and more cruel events than those seen in dramas are currently unfolding in schools. Last year, in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, a middle school teacher was sued for child abuse.
The child's grandmother first called the teacher, expressing her fury by saying, "I cannot allow you to treat a child who was raised with more money than the value of two apartments so poorly." The following day, the child's parents filed a complaint, alleging that the teacher had forced the child to stand in a military-style posture during a heatwave and dragged the child by the ear to the second-floor faculty office.
However, this account was completely different from the teacher's memory of the event. The teacher met with the parents the next day, hoping to clarify the facts. But the parents became agitated and interrogated the teacher, shouting and demanding that the teacher only answer "yes" or "no" to their questions, as if conducting an interrogation.
The parents, who had demanded CCTV footage, sued the teacher using the footage and witnesses. Even after police explained that the CCTV footage did not constitute child abuse, the parents refused to back down. In November of last year, the court ruled that there was no evidence of child abuse by the teacher.
However, the parents subsequently filed an application for a 재정 신청 (a procedure to challenge a prosecutor's decision not to indict), and after that was also dismissed, they filed a second lawsuit in April for assault and insult. The parents are continuing to subject the teachers to secondary victimization. Furthermore, the parents even filed a complaint regarding the teacher's conduct to the National Assembly through an acquaintance who is a parliamentary aide.
At an elementary school in Busan, a student sexually harassed and assaulted classmates. The child also directed profanity and insults toward the teacher as well as peers. In response, the teacher notified the parents of the problematic behavior multiple times and requested guidance at home.
The child's parents stated they would discipline the child well, while also questioning whether the teacher held a bias against their child.
Eventually, as similar incidents continued to occur, a school board deliberation committee was held, and a forced transfer order for the child was issued after two months. The parents, who had previously requested a school violence committee meeting to ensure the child received proper guidance, changed their tune. They demanded a review of the forced transfer order, reported the teacher for child abuse, and portrayed the other students in the class as if they were the perpetrators. This has led to a lawsuit that has been ongoing for two years.
The parents, who continue to pursue repeated litigation, even confessed their shocking inner thoughts, claiming they were also under great stress and had been harmed, saying, "I don't know if I should say this, but I want to destroy the teacher."
There are an average of 700 child abuse reports filed by parents annually. Cruel acts by teachers occur in places unseen. It is a tragic reality that child abuse lawsuits have now become a tool for harassment by parents.
Incumbent school principals stated, "The moment the law entered, the school collapsed." Experts pointed out, "Parents are not looking for a solution to the problem; they want an apology, which is why they respond emotionally. The current situation makes it easy to file complaints, and if they set their minds to it, they can harass teachers as much as they want."
They added, "Even if the emotional wounds are addressed and comforted, they do not stop. Emotions are transferred to the parents, who then fight a proxy war. When they say the teacher is wrong, the parents find comfort in the belief that they have done things correctly. They are abusing the system."
Teacher Hyun Seung-jun passed away last year. A science teacher and head of student affairs at a middle school in Jeju, Hyun was a passionate educator.
However, in May of last year, he took his own life at the school where he had worked for 20 years. Leaving behind four suicide notes, he expressed his frustration, stating, "I did not lie."
Teacher Hyun had been in conflict with a student, Choi, who had been frequently late or absent since the beginning of last year. Upon receiving a tip that Choi, who rarely attended school, was smoking, Hyun decided he could not pass the matter to the student affairs department. Choi promised he would not smoke and would attend school regularly. However, Choi did not show up to school the following day, and his parents filed a complaint.
Choi's family claimed that Teacher Hyun had falsely accused the student of smoking, preventing him from attending school, and alleged that Hyun had used abusive language during the process. They bombarded Teacher Hyun with unreasonable demands, threatening to report him to the Office of Education.
Perhaps due to the pressure of the complaints, Teacher Hyun suffered from severe headaches before his death. He applied for sick leave, but it was not granted.
Instead, he contacted the student's family to resolve the complaints and scheduled a meeting. However, no one from Choi's family appeared on the day of the appointment. Eventually, he took his own life.
Experts drew attention by pointing out that what is more urgent than new institutions or systems is the more active utilization of the authority that is already in place.
(Editor Kim Hyo-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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