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North Jeolla Teachers' unions accuse parent of harassment after student is reprimanded for smoking

Published: 20 Oct. 2025, 16:51

[JOONGANG ILBO]

Teachers’ unions in North Jeolla on Monday accused a parent of harassing school staff after their child was disciplined for smoking, urging the local education office to take official action.

In a joint statement, the North Jeolla branches of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Jeonbuk Teachers Union said a parent repeatedly lodged complaints against school staff at a local high school after their child was caught smoking off-campus earlier this month.

A teacher at a high school in North Jeolla reported two students for smoking and notified their parents, initiating the school’s disciplinary process, according to the teachers’ unions.

One of the parents allegedly responded with verbal threats, saying, “I gave my child permission to smoke. Why is this an issue? I’ll wreck this school.”

The parent later visited the principal’s office and reportedly threatened to sue the teacher who took video of the incident for “invasion of privacy and child abuse.”

The unions said the parent continued to visit the school several times to lodge complaints, and that the teacher, under prolonged stress, was later diagnosed with acute stress disorder and anxiety.

A classroom inside a school in Seoul is seen on Sept. 4, 2023. [NEWS1]

“This is a clear case of infringing on teachers’ rights by interfering with student discipline and threatening school staff,” the unions said. “The local education office must officially recognize this as a violation of teachers’ rights and take appropriate action against the parent.”

In response, the parent denied the accusations, saying, “I only questioned whether the school followed the proper procedures and regulations. I did not make malicious complaints.”

“I agreed to accept the disciplinary decision to put an end to the matter, but the school reported it as a violation of teachers’ rights, which escalated the situation,” said the parent.

The parent further claimed the teacher and others had bullied the student even before the smoking incident, alleging that the child had attempted suicide as a result.

“It’s the school that is standing in the way of my child’s future,” the parent said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]