SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - South Korean education authorities reviewed more than 4,000 cases of alleged violations of teachers' rights last year, more than triple the level recorded five years earlier, data showed Friday.
Teacher Rights Protection Committees reviewed 4,034 cases during the 2025 school year, about 3.4 times the 1,197 cases recorded in 2020, according to data published by the Korean Educational Development Institute.
The number rose to 2,269 in 2021, 3,035 in 2022 and a peak of 5,050 in 2023 before falling to 4,234 in 2024 and 4,034 last year. Despite the two consecutive annual declines, the figure remained more than three times the 2020 level.
Detailed data for the 2024 school year showed that middle schools accounted for 2,503 cases, or 59.1 percent of the total, followed by high schools with 942 and elementary schools with 704.
Students were responsible for most cases at middle and high schools. At elementary schools, however, parents or guardians were involved in 211 of the 704 cases, or 30 percent. All 23 cases reported at kindergartens involved parents or guardians.
Among violations involving students, intentionally disrupting educational activities by refusing legitimate disciplinary guidance was the most common type at 32.4 percent, followed by insults or defamation at 26 percent and physical assault or injury at 13.3 percent.
For parents and guardians, repeated or unjustified interference with legitimate educational activities was the largest category at 24.1 percent.
The issue of teachers' rights became a major national concern after a young teacher at Seoul's Seoi Elementary School died in July 2023, prompting large-scale demonstrations by teachers and calls for stronger protections against excessive parental complaints and interference in classroom activities.
In response, South Korea strengthened legal and administrative protections for teachers, including revisions to education-related laws and new guidelines giving teachers clearer authority to discipline students and respond to disruptive behavior. The government has since expanded measures aimed at protecting legitimate educational activities from unfounded child-abuse complaints and other forms of interference.
AJP Takeaways
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South Korea reviewed 4,034 cases of alleged violations of teachers’ rights in 2025, more than triple the 1,197 cases recorded in 2020.
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Middle schools accounted for nearly 60 percent of reported cases in 2024, while parents and guardians were involved in 30 percent of elementary school cases.
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Teachers’ rights became a major national issue after the 2023 death of a Seoul elementary school teacher, prompting stronger legal protections against excessive complaints, classroom disruption and unfounded child-abuse accusations.
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