"The regular teacher whose position I was filling says they are returning to work just one day before the holiday. I'm about to lose a total of 3.2 million won, including my salary and holiday bonus." "Teachers can't just return like that these days. It was approved because there was a valid reason, and selfish returns like in the past no longer happen, so don't feel wronged." These are remarks frequently seen on social media regarding claims of so-called "opportunistic returns" by regular teachers.

These posts allege that regular teachers on leave for various reasons suddenly return to work right before school vacations—when there is no instructional workload—or just ahead of holidays when bonuses are paid, leaving the contract teachers who substituted for them abruptly out of work without their expected pay and bonuses.

Whenever such posts appear, comments often follow disputing them, arguing that while such incidents may have occurred in the past, education authorities now advise returning by semester, and that such "opportunistic returns" are rarely seen in reality.

In fact, education authorities have established guidelines to prevent practices such as returning during vacations or repeatedly taking leaves and returning.

Complaints that contract teachers suffer because regular teachers on leave use the "loophole" of returning temporarily only during vacations—when work burdens are light—have persisted for a long time.

Schools pay longevity allowances in January and July, as well as Lunar New Year bonuses around January to February, prompting claims that teachers on leave return early specifically to collect these benefits.

Contract teachers argue that this directly leads to damages for those who were filling their positions.

This is because they not only miss out on the expected allowances, but also lose their jobs before their contract period ends.

Under operational guidelines for contract teachers set by education authorities, contract teachers are hired as substitutes for teachers on leave; thus, if a regular teacher returns, the contract is terminated even if time remains on the contract period.

If a contract teacher's period of service is less than one year, they cannot receive severance pay, nor do they receive salary step increases.

"For instance, if a contract is terminated during winter vacation because a regular teacher returns, you lose two months' salary during vacation, holiday bonuses, and severance pay that comes after completing one full year of service," one contract teacher said. "Adding up all the financial losses, it comes to around 10 million to 20 million won."


In response, current teachers maintain that while such cases may have happened previously, they have virtually disappeared nowadays.

Kim (47), a teacher who has worked in middle and high schools in Gyeonggi Province for more than 20 years, said, "I saw such cases about 10 years ago, but it is rare for people to act that way these days."

Another elementary school teacher, Ko (47), also said, "I have heard of such people, but I have never actually seen it happen."

Currently, education authorities recommend taking leaves of absence on a semester basis whenever possible, taking into consideration students' right to learn, school management, and issues surrounding contract teachers.

Personnel management guidelines for metropolitan and provincial offices of education also stipulate that leaves should be taken by semester, and prohibit hiring contract teachers under contracts that exclude vacation periods if the appointment period is one semester or longer.

Nevertheless, posts on social media complaining of damages caused by regular teachers' early returns can still be easily found.

In fact, data from the Ministry of Education shows that early returns have averaged more than 100 cases annually in recent years.

According to data on the "Status of Teachers' Early Returns During Vacation Periods" received from the Ministry of Education by the office of Rep. Kim Moon-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, a total of 296 teachers returned prematurely during vacation periods (December, January, July) before their originally planned return dates over the roughly two-year period from January 2023 to March 2025.

By year, there were 98 in 2023, 128 in 2024, and 70 in January–March 2025, with 2025 recording an average of 23 early return cases per month in the first quarter alone.

Education authorities explained, however, that looking into the reasons for these early returns, it is difficult to conclude that these teachers returned to target vacation pay or holiday bonuses as alleged on social media.

Categorized by reason, the largest portion of early returns during that period was "cessation of grounds for leave" at 129 cases.

This was followed by "return to use maternity leave" with 84 cases, "change in leave type" with 58 cases, and "wishing to return early due to other personal reasons" with 25 cases.

"Cessation of grounds for leave" refers to situations where the initial reason for taking leave no longer applies, such as successful pregnancy (infertility leave), spouse's completion of overseas assignment (accompanying spouse leave), death of a care recipient (family care leave), or recovery from an illness (sick leave).

An official from the Ministry of Education explained that under the State Public Officials Act, teachers must return immediately once the grounds for leave cease to exist, making these returns unavoidable.

The official added that in cases of "return to use maternity leave" or "change in leave type," teachers immediately re-enter leave without returning to work duties, resulting in no harm to contract teachers.

"Return to use maternity leave" refers to cases where a teacher on parental leave prior to childbirth temporarily ends their leave status and returns to work on paper before applying for maternity leave.

Because leave cannot be taken while already on leave of absence, the return is processed for administrative purposes.

"Change in leave type" refers to cases where the return is on paper because the type of leave changes, such as when a teacher on parental leave switches to accompanying spouse leave to join a spouse on an overseas assignment.

The only early returns that could practically affect contract teachers are those categorized under "other personal reasons."

These accounted for 7 cases in 2023, 13 cases in 2024, and 5 cases in January–March 2025.

Furthermore, "temporary returns during vacation periods," where teachers return early during vacations, work for a certain period, and take leave again at the start of the semester, numbered around 10 at most.

According to data on temporary returns during vacation periods received by Rep. Kim Moon-soo's office from the Ministry of Education, temporary returns suspected of being "opportunistic returns" stood at 6 cases in 2023, 12 cases in 2024, and 3 cases in January–March 2025.

A Ministry of Education official stated, "Even for early returns due to other personal reasons, each case must be examined individually to determine whether it constitutes an opportunistic return. Since such issues were raised in the past, metropolitan and provincial offices of education currently manage the leave system strictly in accordance with relevant laws and regulations."

Contract teachers emphasized that while opportunistic practices may have decreased, they have not disappeared entirely.

Kwon Oh-gyun, director of policy at the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) Contract Teachers Committee, said, "Many complaints are received around January, when both longevity allowances and Lunar New Year bonuses are paid."

Related organizations also stressed that even outside vacation periods, cases where contract teachers are forced to leave before completing their contract term due to regular teachers' early returns remain frequent and are on the rise.

Park Hye-seong, president of the National Contract Teachers Union, said, "Looking at the number of counseling requests filed with the union, cases of contract teachers being dismissed due to regular teachers' early returns have actually increased compared to before."

According to the KTU Contract Teachers Committee, contract teachers whose contracts were terminated due to early returns numbered 61 in 2024 and 71 in 2025 in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province alone.

Related groups also pointed out that rather than early returns during vacations themselves, the structural issue is that original contract periods are not honored and contract teachers bear all the losses.

Park Young-jin, head of the KTU Contract Teachers Committee, said, "While service conditions for contract teachers are comparable to public officials, they are unconditionally forced out when a regular teacher returns. Shouldn't stability be guaranteed for their livelihoods?"

Following these concerns, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission issued recommendations for system improvements in 2020, leading to regulations requiring that contract teachers receive 30 days' advance notice of dismissal or more than 30 days' worth of ordinary wages.

An education insider who requested anonymity noted that although not captured in Ministry of Education statistics, it is common for schools to recruit contract teachers with contracts set only until right before vacation.

"While parental leave tends to be taken by semester according to Ministry of Education guidelines, damage often occurs in cases of sick leave or family care leave due to regular teachers' early returns," the insider said.

Teacher changes mid-semester or mid-school year also affect students.

President Park Hye-seong explained, "From the contract teacher's perspective, their connection with the children they were teaching is severed overnight, preventing them from carrying out planned lessons, but from the students' perspective, their teacher suddenly changes."

One contract teacher asked, "Some schools hire contract teachers only for short durations until vacation begins, but capable and experienced contract teachers do not apply for such openings. Ultimately, teachers with poor evaluations or past disciplinary records fill those roles. Is this situation really good for the children?"

Contract teachers' organizations argued that to resolve the problem, authorities should not merely scrutinize regular teachers' early returns, but step in to ensure contract teachers' contract terms are guaranteed even when regular teachers return.

Committee Head Park Young-jin stressed, "A teacher on parental leave might return early because someone became available to care for their child, and we fully understand the regular teacher's position. Both should be possible: regular teachers being free to take leave and return, and contract teachers having their contract terms honored."

Considering that the number of contract teachers is increasing every year, some predict such conflicts will become more frequent.

Due to declining student numbers and an increase in teachers taking leave, contract teachers currently number around 80,000.

Park said, "This is because authorities are choosing to fill regular teacher positions with contract teachers instead of recruiting regular teachers, using them as a buffer for teacher downsizing caused by declining student numbers."

A Ministry of Education official said, "From the contract teachers' perspective, they would want 100% employment stability, but doing so would require prohibiting regular teachers from returning early altogether. That presents other difficulties, so we are striving to find a balance between regular teachers and contract teachers under current laws."

(Photos courtesy of Rep. Kim Moon-soo's office; captured from Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education's 2024 Teacher Personnel Management Practical Guide (Secondary), Yonhap News)