[Anchor]

A drama depicting a fictional "Teacher Rights Protection Bureau" standing up against problematic students and parents to restore teachers' authority has recently gained popularity. However, the reality in actual classrooms is heading in the opposite direction. It has been found that absurd incidents of teachers being assaulted by students or parents have continued to increase over the past five years.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Mr. A, a teacher in his 50s who is in charge of student affairs at a middle school in Gyeonggi Province.

Last December, he was diagnosed with injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment after being struck in the classroom by a bag full of books swung by a student nearly 180 centimeters tall.

[Mr. A / Victim Teacher: I hit the blackboard and was squatting down, unable to breathe. It hurt so much that I was left speechless.]

When Mr. A tried to stop the student from leaving home without apologizing, the student's parents reported him to the police for child abuse, claiming it was "false imprisonment," the teacher complained.

[Mr. A / Victim Teacher: I feel wronged but have nowhere to speak, and because many people gathered around, I felt humiliated and embarrassed. It made me feel like, 'Am I even a teacher?']

While Mr. A was explaining himself to the provincial office of education and other authorities, the student graduated two months later without complying with the investigation by the Teacher Rights Protection Committee.

According to data obtained by SBS from the Ministry of Education, cases where teachers suffered injury or assault by students or guardians surged more than fourfold from 113 cases in 2020 to 561 cases in 2025, increasing for five consecutive years.

Sexual violence crimes against teachers by students or guardians also continued to rise from 31 cases in 2020, reaching 157 cases in 2024 and 114 cases in 2025.

Damage from the unauthorized distribution of videos, audio, and synthetic media regarding teachers, which has been compiled since 2022, also exceeded 100 cases in 2024 and 2025, compared to 11 cases in 2022.

[Baek Seung-ah / Member of the National Assembly Education Committee (Democratic Party of Korea): We must continuously check whether teacher protection systems, such as legal and psychological recovery support, are operating properly in the field so that teachers do not have to shoulder the burden alone.]

A bill has also been proposed and is currently under review by the National Assembly to automatically terminate investigations if a teacher is reported for child abuse, provided there is an opinion from the superintendent of education that it was "legitimate educational guidance" and a police determination of no charges.

(Camera: Lee Moo-jin, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing: Yu Mi-ra, Design: Kim Ye-ji)