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Assault on teachers continues with alarming frequency

Published: 13 May. 2025, 14:23

Members from the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, the Korean Federation of Teachers Unions and Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union call for a policy and systematic change to restore teachers’ authority in classrooms and urge the government to register the death of a young teacher from Seo2 Elementary School as a line-of-duty death on Feb. 20, 2024, in front of the government complex in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

The assault of teachers by students or guardians has continued with alarming frequency, with more than 520 cases of injury or assault reported last year. Cases involving the unauthorized distribution of videos filmed or altered using images of teachers also tripled from the previous year.

The Ministry of Education released the findings of the 2024 survey on infringements on teachers' authority on Tuesday, ahead of Korea's Teachers' Day, which falls on May 15. According to the ministry, regional teacher rights protection committees convened a total of 4,234 times last year.

Although this marks a slight decrease from the 5,050 cases recorded in 2023 — a year marked by heightened awareness of teacher rights following the incident at Seo2 Elementary School in Seocho District, southern Seoul — it is still significantly higher than the figures from 2020, 2021, and 2022, which recorded 1,197, 2,269, and 3,035 cases, respectively.

These committees, operated by local education support offices, review cases reported by victimized teachers to determine whether an infringement on a teacher's authority has occurred and what actions should be taken against the responsible students or guardians.

Among the cases reviewed last year, 93 percent — 3,925 cases — were recognized as violations of educational activities. Of those, 89.1 percent, or 3,773 cases, involved students, while 10.9 percent, or 461 cases, involved guardians or others. The majority of incidents occurred in middle schools, accounting for 59 percent or 2,503 cases.

Teachers shed tears in mourning the death of the school teacher of Seo2 Elementary School in Seocho District, southern Seoul, who took her own life, on the school campus on July 23, 2023, five days after her death. She was allegedly harassed by the parents of students over a school violence case. [NEWS1]

The most rapidly growing category was the unauthorized distribution of images or audio recordings involving teachers, including altered or deepfake content. These incidents surged from 42 to 122 cases in a single year, nearly tripling. The Education Ministry attributed this to the rise in deepfake crimes and increased sensitivity to related issues within schools.

Injury and assault cases also continued to rise, with a total of 518 incidents reported last year — the fifth consecutive year of increases.

Among student-perpetrated violations, the most common type was an intentional disruption of a teacher's authority by refusing legitimate discipline, which accounted for 32.4 percent or 1,224 cases.

Bereaved families of teachers who died by suicide and members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union hold a press conference and call for another investigation into the death of a teacher in front of the Seocho Police Station in southern Seoul on July 18, 2024. [NEWS1]

This was followed by defamation and insults, with 24.6 percent or 980 cases, and injury or assault, with 13.3 percent or 502 cases. Among guardian-related violations, the most frequent was interference with the legitimate authority of a teacher at 24.4 percent or 111 cases, followed by defamation and insults at 13 percent or 60 cases and obstruction of official duties at 9.3 percent or 43 cases.

Disciplinary measures against offending students included suspension at 27.7 percent, in-school service at 23.4 percent, community service at 19 percent, transfer to another school at 8.7 percent, class reassignment at 6.7 percent and special education or psychological counseling at 4.1 percent. Measures against guardians included written apologies and pledges to prevent recurrence at 37.1 percent, as well as special education at 23.9 percent.

“We will establish enforcement ordinances to protect the legitimate authority of teachers,” said the Education Ministry. “We will take strict action against malicious complaints and behaviors that hinder teaching.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE BO-RAM [[email protected]]