Memorials across nation set for deceased school teacher

An employee of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education adds a message at a memorial space set up at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday, three days before the first anniversary of the death of a teacher who worked at Seoi Elementary School. (Yonhap)

One year after the mistreatment of teachers and the protection of their rights became a major social issue in the wake of the death of a young teacher in July last year, waves of tributes to the deceased have risen across South Korea this week, with many coming from other education workers.

The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, one of the country's two major teachers' unions, set Monday to July 23 as a period of remembrance, bringing together online and offline spaces to encourage remembrances by region, according to the education community.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union is also organizing a week of remembrance from Monday to Friday and arranging memorial services in each region.

On the July 18, the first anniversary of the death of a Seoi Elementary School teacher, teachers' organizations, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the bereaved family will hold joint or separate events to commemorate the deceased.

On July 18 last year, a teacher at Seoi Elementary School in Seoul's Seocho-gu took her own life, reportedly due to the stress of relentless and malicious complaints from parents. This incident has since brought the mistreatment and rights of teachers to the forefront of social issues.

Despite police concluding their investigation in November with no criminal charges filed, the incident ignited weeks of nationwide protests from teachers, highlighting their ongoing mistreatment and demanding better protections and respect for their profession.

In response to the tragic death, legislative and institutional reforms have been enacted to enhance protections for teachers.

Five new laws regarding teachers' rights have been enacted, including an amendment to the Child Abuse Punishment Act to clarify that legitimate educational activities by teachers do not constitute child abuse.

Additional measures include a requirement for educational authorities to submit the superintendent of education's opinion during an investigation following a report of child abuse.

As a result, out of 110 cases where an opinion was submitted as "justified life guidance" and the investigation concluded, over 90 percent of the cases ended in nonprosecution or no charges.

Since the implementation of these reforms, the rate of nonprosecution has increased by 17 percent compared to the period prior.

Other measures to protect teachers' rights included opening a hotline for teachers to report violations, law revisions to define "malicious complaints" as well as stating that they are an act deterring educational activities, and imposing fines and other punitive actions on parents accused of such violations.

However, teachers on the ground say they have seen little change after the implementation of the new measures.

Eight out of 10 teachers in Seoul said that there has been no change in the protection of teachers' educational activities after the various measures were introduced, according to a survey conducted in early July by the Seoul Teachers' Union.

Some 84 percent of teachers said there was "no change" and 5.1 percent said it had gotten worse.

Meanwhile, 78 percent said they had experienced a similar situation to that of the Seoi Elementary School teacher, and 45.6 percent said they believed teachers would face more difficulties in the future due to infringements on their teaching activities.

Ahead of the first anniversary of the teacher's death, the Seoul Teachers' Union will reveal the results of a study on measures to prevent job stress and burnout among elementary school teachers as well as a poll of 1,000 Seoul residents and Seoul teachers on Thursday.

If you’re thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s helpline on 1393, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.

By Choi Jeong-yoon(jychoi@heraldcorp.com)