Death Threats and a 48-Hour Response: How Other Countries Protect Teachers [Fact Check]

[Anchor]

A fictional government agency dedicated to restoring teachers' authority—this is the premise of a "Teachers' Rights Protection Bureau" featured in a recent drama. As the show gains popularity, discussions about establishing a real-life dedicated organization to protect teachers' rights are gaining momentum. Do such institutions exist in other countries?

Fact Check, Lee Gyeong-won reports.

[Reporter]

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has taken the lead.

It has officially announced plans to establish a so-called Teachers' Rights Protection Bureau, and the Ministry of Education has also unveiled plans to pursue a dedicated department.

[Choi Kyo-jin / Minister of Education (on June 22): We will ensure that teachers' educational activities are not stifled or subjected to unfair difficulties.]

Upon verification, it was difficult to find overseas cases where an external agency, like in the drama, is dispatched to schools to directly punish students who infringe upon teachers' rights.

However, the closest equivalent is France's mobile security teams.

The system was established after a principal faced death threats following an argument with a student over the wearing of a hijab two years ago. When a serious crisis, including the infringement of teachers' rights, occurs at a school, authorities dispatch professional personnel within a maximum of 48 hours to support the school until the situation stabilizes.

[Nicole Belloubet / Then-French Minister of Education (March 2024): (The mobile security teams) will support schools in difficulty to manage and respond to the situation for a certain period.]

Japan operates a "School Lawyer" system.

Without budget constraints or cumbersome approval procedures, teachers can request assistance via phone or email, and legal consultation and case response begin immediately.

[Masahito Moriyama / Then-Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (April 2024): School lawyers are not just legal advisors, but actually act as representatives for the school board of education...]

In South Korea, systems to protect teachers' rights have been strengthened following the death of a teacher at Seoi Elementary School in 2023. However, there are ongoing criticisms that the complex case-handling procedures cause teachers to suffer further distress.

[Kim Min-seok / Director of Kim Min-seok Teachers' Rights Counseling Center: (In cases of complaints against teachers) most teachers suffer from mental distress for a long period of three to six months.]

The direction shown by overseas cases is not immediate punishment.

It is about intervening quickly so that teachers do not have to bear the burden alone, and normalizing the school environment as fast as possible.

This suggests that the core of protecting teachers' rights lies not in the intensity of punishment, but in a rapid support system that helps teachers return to the classroom without being exhausted by the process.

Reported by Lee Gyeong-won | Video by Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics by Jo Su-in | Writer by Kim Hyo-jin | Intern by Park Geun-ho
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.