Despite passage of the 4th Act to Protect Teachers’ Rights, ‘Legitimate Discipline Standards Are Ambiguous’

Recently, there has been a series of tragic news triggered by reports of indiscriminate child abuse. Accordingly, the '4 Laws on Protecting Teachers' Rights' to protect teachers' legitimate life guidance and educational activities were passed by the National Assembly Education Committee on the 15th.

The four laws protecting teachers' rights collectively refer to the Special Act for the Improvement of Teachers' Status and Protection of Educational Activities (Teachers' Status Act), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Early Childhood Education Act, and the Amendment to the Basic Education Act, and contain contents that have been pointed out as the main causes of the decline in teacher rights, such as reports of indiscriminate child abuse, repeated malicious complaints from some parents, and details of measures taken against students who infringe on educational activities.

Previously, it has been pointed out that the teachers in charge were solely responsible for complaints from parents, and that the right to education of other students and the teacher to teach was infringed upon by the Superintendent of Education arbitrarily disqualifying the teacher from his or her position, considering the gravity of the case, even in the case of a false and malicious report. By supplementing these contents, the consultative body will review the matter and decide whether or not to dismiss the teacher from his/her position, thereby preventing teachers from being unfairly harmed and ensuring students' right to stable learning.

In addition, if a school principal minimizes or conceals violations of educational activities, he or she will be subject to disciplinary action. A mutual aid project has been implemented to protect teachers from lawsuits related to educational activities, providing the basis for entrustment to the School Safety Mutual Aid Association. As a result, it is expected that the current situation, where even proper guidance on living is not possible due to excessive restrictions and indiscriminate reporting, will be greatly improved.

However, there are still voices saying that the standards are ambiguous. The position is that prompt revision of the Child Welfare Act and the Child Abuse Punishment Act is necessary.

Last April, Mr. A, who was a second-grade homeroom teacher at an elementary school in Seoul, said to Boy B, who was bullying his friends and repeatedly disrupting class, "This is why the kids hate you," and "There are parents who want to open a school violence committee because of Boy B." Due to this incident, Mr. A was dismissed from his homeroom teacher position for the first time in 40 years of teaching, but after explaining that it was part of legitimate discipline, the prosecution decided not to indict him.

In relation to this, Mr. A's legal representative said, "With the revision of the Child Welfare Act and the Child Abuse Punishment Act in progress, legal judgment on emotional abuse is becoming more important. If you are identified as a perpetrator, you will suffer secondary damage such as witch hunts and doxing, so it is important to organize the facts, accurately identify the motive and circumstances leading to the act, and take the initial response."

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