SUWON — The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education called on the National Assembly to protect teachers' legitimate educational activities through law and institutional measures, marking 60 days since it launched its teacher rights protection officer program.
The office held a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on the 22nd, outlining the institutional limits it has identified while running the program. It also raised the need to revise three laws governing teacher protection. The event was attended by lawmaker Baek Seung-ah, Superintendent Ahn Min-seok, members of the office's teacher rights protection unit, and representatives of teachers' groups and unions.
The provincial office appointed 300 teacher rights protection officers starting Aug. 22, the first such program in the country, to provide on-site support. As of Oct. 8, it had received 170 cases. Infringements on educational activities accounted for 81, the largest share, followed by 50 cases involving malicious complaints and other issues, and 39 cases in which teachers had been reported for suspected child abuse.
The teacher rights protection unit assigns an officer to each case and connects teachers with legal, administrative and psychological support. It provides assistance from school visits through follow-up management, and is also discussing the deployment of itinerant teachers and adjustments to work duties to help affected teachers recover. For three teachers facing damages claims, the office joined teachers' groups in submitting roughly 5,000 petitions to the court.
The office said, however, that support at the education office level alone has clear limits. It said teachers still bear a heavy burden in handling investigations and litigation after a report is filed, and that legitimate educational activities risk being discouraged by fears of legal disputes.
The revisions the office proposed to the three laws are aimed at clarifying standards for protecting educational activities and at easing the burden on teachers during the reporting, investigation and litigation process.
On the Child Welfare Act, the office proposed setting out more specific criteria for distinguishing emotional child abuse from legitimate educational activities. It also called for changes to ensure that records related to cases closed without charges or ending in acquittal do not remain unnecessarily.
On the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, it said procedures should be supplemented so that cases without grounds for suspicion can be closed at the police stage. The proposal also includes measures to ensure that opinions submitted by the superintendent are fully reviewed during investigations.
The proposed revision to the Act on the Improvement of Teachers' Status, etc. includes a legal basis for education authorities to file complaints over malicious false reports, expanded support for retaining lawyers and covering litigation costs, and a statutory basis for the teacher rights protection officers.
The office plans to hold a legislative forum at the National Assembly on Nov. 6 to gather views from schools and experts. It will also expand its support system based on an ordinance governing the teacher rights protection officers, and is pursuing a reorganization aimed at establishing a teacher rights protection bureau on March 1, 2027.
Superintendent Ahn said, "The education office can stand beside teachers, but protecting them on a continuing basis requires laws and institutions." The superintendent added, "Guaranteeing teachers' rights must come first in order to protect students' human rights and right to learn," and stressed, "We ask the National Assembly to respond with legislation."