Over 2,000 Teachers Gather Online to Address Infringements on Educational Authority

It has been reported that more than 2,000 current and former teachers have gathered in an open KakaoTalk chat room to share cases of educational authority infringement and seek collective countermeasures.

As of the morning of June 29, over 2,200 people are active in the chat room, which was established last September under the name "National Headquarters for Countermeasures against Malicious Complaints Infringing on Educational Authority."

In the chat room, one elementary school teacher wrote, "I was sued for child abuse while disciplining a student who refused to follow instructions during class, and it took a year to be cleared of the charges."

The teacher reportedly lamented, "I felt so wronged that I sought psychiatric treatment, and I even thought that a person could really die from this."

Another elementary school teacher claimed that a parent brought their lawyer husband to the school and intimidated them, saying, "The teacher's actions violate the Child Abuse Act, and we will be watching to see what you do from now on."

A high school teacher asked for advice on how to respond after a parent filed an appeal against a non-indictment decision, noting, "I was sued for disciplining a student who was not focusing in class, and it took six months to receive the non-indictment ruling."

Although the Ministry of Education has implemented measures, such as revising four laws related to the protection of educational authority, following the death of a teacher in their 20s at Seoi Elementary School in Seoul in July 2023 who had been suffering from malicious complaints by parents, cases of infringement on educational authority have not decreased.

According to data titled "Educational Activity Infringement and Teacher Protection Through Data," released by the National Assembly Library at the end of last year, the number of annual cases of educational activity infringement surged from 1,197 in 2020 to 5,050 in 2023.

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Choi Gangsan | Graphics by Lee Jeongju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.