Rep. Kim Min-jeon Proposes Law Requiring Substitute Staff for Kindergarten Absences

Kim Min-jeon, a lawmaker from the ruling People Power Party, introduced a bill on the 24th to require substitute staff at kindergartens when teachers or other employees are unexpectedly unable to work, aiming to prevent disruptions and keep schools running smoothly.

The proposed revision to the Early Childhood Education Act would mandate assigning a substitute teacher when a staff member cannot perform duties due to illness, infectious disease or other unforeseen reasons, creating a gap in operating the curriculum. It also calls for the education minister and provincial education superintendents to establish and implement measures to secure, manage and support the placement of substitute personnel, with the stated goal of improving the quality of early childhood education and protecting teachers’ rights to teach and to health.

The proposal follows a recent case in which a first-year teacher died after going to work despite illness because a substitute could not be found, even amid a flu situation. In a survey released on the 23rd by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union of 6,689 teachers nationwide across kindergarten, elementary, middle, high and special schools, 64.5% of kindergarten teachers surveyed (3,547 respondents) said they had gone to work while sick with the flu. The findings fueled calls to better protect staff health and build a substitute staffing system.

Current law does not explicitly provide for assigning or supporting replacement staff when employees cannot work due to illness or leave, the lawmaker’s office said, and kindergartens have faced serious disruptions. Private kindergartens, in particular, have struggled with costs and staffing shortages, leaving teachers to keep classrooms running while ill, it said.

“The tragic loss of a private kindergarten teacher exposed the harsh reality of an education system without a way to replace sick teachers,” Kim said. “This revision should address structural gaps in early childhood education and create a safe personnel management system so teachers do not have to protect classrooms at the expense of their health.”