"Homeroom Teacher Glared at My Child": 113 Complaints and 6 Teachers in a Year Leave Classmates Suffering

At an elementary school in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, a 5th-grade class had its homeroom teacher changed a staggering six times in a single year.

This reportedly occurred after some parents repeatedly filed complaints with the school, claiming that "the homeroom teacher glared at my child" and "is neglecting my child."

Whenever a new homeroom teacher was appointed, more complaints followed. One parent reportedly made 113 complaint calls, while another made 61.

As a result, students in this class had to go through multiple homeroom teachers throughout the academic year.

This is not an isolated case.

Data shows that similar cases of homeroom teachers being replaced mid-semester have surged nationwide in recent times.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to People Power Party lawmaker Jung Sung-kook, the number of mid-semester homeroom teacher replacements at public elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide rose from 415 cases during the three-year period from 2020 to 2022 to 575 cases from 2023 to last year.

Comparing the two three-year periods, this marks a 38.6% increase.

Homeroom teacher replacements stemming from parents' demands also rose by 32.1%, from 156 cases to 206 cases.

Conversely, cases where teachers themselves requested a change of homeroom assignment saw an even larger increase.

Over the same period, these cases jumped 42.5% from 259 to 369.

Among the 575 homeroom replacements recorded over the past three years, cases where teachers voluntarily requested a replacement accounted for a massive 64.2%.

In fact, at an elementary school in the southern part of Gyeonggi Province last year, a homeroom teacher stepped down after the first semester due to distress from repetitive parental complaints. At the time, a parent reportedly kept filing complaints, asking, "Why are you only discriminating against my child?" and "Why are you showing favoritism to other children?"

The teacher explained that they had never discriminated against any student, but the complaints persisted, ultimately leading the teacher to request a change in homeroom duties.

When homeroom teachers change frequently, students are forced to rebuild trust with new teachers from scratch, while teachers must also figure out students' characteristics and classroom conditions all over again.

The Supreme Court also ruled in 2023 that repetitive demands for homeroom teacher replacements without justifiable reasons can constitute undue interference with educational activities.

The court stated that replacing a homeroom teacher should only be permitted supplementarily in extraordinary situations where it is difficult for the teacher to normally perform their duties.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.