South Korea passes new law to protect teachers from abusive parents amid rising protests

A set of legal revisions aimed at improving the rights of teachers in schools was passed by South Korea on September 22. The move comes after weeks of protests sparked by a series of teacher suicides. The teachers’ movement broke out after the death of a 23-year-old elementary school teacher in July, who committed suicide because of malicious complaints from parents.

According to the Guardian, the teacher was found dead at her school in Seoul. She committed suicide due to anxiety over complaints from abusive parents. While condemning the way teachers were treated by the parents, demonstrators expressed their frustrations over the abusive treatment. According to the protesting South Korean teachers, they have received abusive treatment from both parents and students, who accused them of child abuse for disciplining students.

South Korea's teacher rights restoration bills

The national assembly of South Korea passed four bills, also known as the “teacher rights restoration bills” on Thursday. This move has been considered as a major step towards enhancement of the working conditions and protections for educators in the country.

Under these bills, South Korean teachers will no longer be automatically suspended if they are accused of child abuse. The bill prohibits school principals from downplaying or concealing activities that may have violated a teacher’s rights, reported The Guardian. Notably, this bill has been passed with unanimous support and has been welcomed by the teachers union.  

"The successful passage of these laws is thanks to the efforts of teachers who have taken to the streets every week […] We express our deep gratitude to them,"  the Korean Federation of Teachers Union said. They have described it as a “first step toward normalising public education and guaranteeing teaching authority”. However, the union has warned that achieving the full effectiveness of these laws might be a challenge, especially without sufficient manpower, budget support, and additional legislation.