Teachers in the 'Seoicho Incident' Testify One After Another... "Complaint Levels Beyond Imagination, Came Crying"

Seoul Teachers' Union Reveals Reported Cases
Dozens of Calls from Parents After School Violence Incident
"The Deceased Said It Was 10 Times Harder Than Last Year"

In an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where a teacher's death occurred, multiple reports have confirmed that there were excessive complaints from parents in the deceased teacher's class.

The Seoul Teachers' Union disclosed on the 21st that they received reports from teachers who had worked or are currently working at Seoi Elementary School.

Teacher A, who was in charge of school violence at Seoi Elementary, stated that most of the parents who filed complaints related to school violence were legal professionals, and some parents even said, "Do you know who I am? I am a lawyer."

Teacher A reported that the level of complaints at Seoi Elementary during their time handling school violence was beyond imagination. The number of parental complaints was so high that most teachers found it very difficult to work.

Teacher B said that five low-experience teachers had been working at Seoi Elementary since March last year, and that the environment was not suitable for low-experience teachers. The teacher said, "Even I, who had experience, found it difficult, so it was a very tough school for low-experience teachers to work at," and added, "I comforted and helped junior teachers who came to me in tears, but overall, I could not do that."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Teacher C, who worked with the deceased, testified, "There was a student in the deceased's class who exhibited aggressive behavior, and the deceased was very distressed."

Teacher D reported that there was an incident where a student in the deceased's class scratched the forehead of a student sitting in the back seat with a pencil, and that the parents of either the perpetrator or the victim made dozens of calls to the deceased's personal mobile phone. At that time, the deceased said, "I never gave out my mobile phone number, nor did I share it with the staff room, so I don't know how they found out my number and called me. It's creepy. I will change my phone number after the vacation," according to Teacher D.

It was also reported that there was a student in the deceased's class who shouted during class, saying, "It's because of the teacher." Teacher D said the deceased mentioned, "I feel like I hear that student's hallucinations when I go to work."

Teacher E testified that during the incident, a parent came to the staff room and said to the deceased, "How are you taking care of the kids?" and "You are not qualified to be a teacher." Teacher E said that when a colleague asked about the deceased's recent condition, the deceased replied, "It is ten times harder than last year."

Teacher F also testified, "The school told us to keep quiet, so we just stayed silent."

Regarding these reports, the Teachers' Union said, "The police have only stated that there is no external circumstantial evidence to confirm the suspicions yet," and added, "The Teachers' Union has received additional reports confirming various circumstances that suggest excessive parental complaints and difficulties in student management." They urged the police and educational authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.

On the 19th, the day after the incident, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education issued a statement saying, "The police are currently investigating the exact cause of the accident." The principal of Seoi Elementary also released a statement on the same day, denying the allegations of parental abuse, stating, "Since March 1st, there has been no change in the homeroom teacher of the deceased's class, and there have been no reports of school violence in that class this year," and "The teacher in question has never visited the education support office."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.