Teacher commits suicide, assaulted by students and parents

According to The Korea Herald, many experts in Korea question whether schools are doing enough to protect teachers, in the context of increasing reports of teacher assaults. Many people question whether this is one of the dangerous professions in Korea.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (South Korea) confirmed that a new teacher at an elementary school in Seocho-gu (southern Seoul) was found dead in her classroom in the morning, before the school year started.

According to the report, it was a 23-year-old female teacher who had just passed the teacher certification exam in 2022. This female teacher had also just joined the school since March 2022.

Local news sites reported that the female teacher had allegedly endured months of bullying and pressure from the mother of the first-grader accused in the school violence case.

However, the school has denied all rumors about teachers being bullied or suffering any conflicts related to school violence.

The police immediately opened an investigation into the case. Since then, many other teachers have also spoken out, calling for the protection of their rights.

Not only this incident, previously, a female elementary school teacher in Seoul was also assaulted by a 6th grade male student in front of other students. As a result, this female teacher had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment.

She was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She also accused the boy's parents of pressuring her to take full responsibility for the incident.

"Both incidents have outraged teachers nationwide, who say the incidents have exposed the dark realities of public schools, where teachers are no longer respected in the classroom," wrote The Korea Herald.

The number of teachers being attacked by students and parents has been on the rise, with data from the Ministry of Education showing that a total of 1,133 teachers were harassed between 2018 and 2022. In addition, students violating teachers’ rights in the classroom exceeded 2,000 cases last year.

Top reasons teachers quit

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said stripping teachers of their rights was a serious violation that posed a serious challenge to the education sector.

“Protecting teachers’ rights not only protects teachers but also protects students’ rights to learn. Any infringement on academic activities will never be tolerated,” Lee said.

According to Seoul Education Director Cho Hee-yeon, teachers sometimes suffer from poor mental and emotional health. His office is also cooperating with the police investigation to determine the exact cause of the teacher's death.

It is known that the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations also issued a statement, calling on agencies to carefully review the incident.

Critics say abusive behavior from parents has contributed to a decline in teachers’ autonomy and decision-making power, especially as more parents try to protect their children, The Korea Herald reported.

According to data released by Rep. Kwon Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party, 589 teachers with less than five years of experience left the education sector from March 2022 to April 2023. This is double the number from 2021.

Among them, false reporting of child abuse allegations and parental complaints were listed as top reasons for leaving.

With alarming figures emerging, local education experts are calling for the implementation of an internal school system to protect teachers from parents and students inside and outside the classroom.

Park Nam-gi, a professor at Gwangju National University of Education, said South Korea should emulate the U.S. teacher support system, where teachers can contact principals and superiors when they need help.