Will Student Records Solve Teacher Rights Violations?... KFTA "89% of Teachers Agree"

Lee Ju-ho "Student Record Entries Have Preventive Effects"
Possibility of Counterclaims... "Discussion on Teacher Immunity Laws"

Recently, the issue of teacher rights violations has come to the forefront following the death of a new teacher at Seoi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and several cases of teacher assaults. The ruling party and the government have begun preparing measures to restore teacher rights, including discussions on recording students who violate teacher rights in the school life record (student record).

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, stated that while the student human rights ordinance is a well-intentioned system, the imbalance with teacher rights has worsened the decline of teacher authority, and he pledged to correct this.

On the 27th, during KBS Radio's Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "It is time to revise the student human rights ordinance," adding, "The Ministry of Education can clarify the authority and scope of teacher guidance through official notifications, and at the same time, work with the education offices to revise the student human rights ordinance."

On the 25th, citizens visiting Seoi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are paying tribute to homeroom teacher Mr. A. Photo by Yonhap News

The Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned the possibility of recording serious violations of teacher rights in the student record. He explained, "School violence is recorded in the student record, right? There are punishments, but if it is recorded in the student record, students tend to be more cautious, so it is actually a strong preventive measure."

However, there are concerns that recording such information in the student record, which affects college admissions, could lead to new conflicts between students, parents, and teachers.

In response, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "There is a Child Abuse Punishment Act, and I have heard concerns that if this provision is included, there could be counterclaims and lawsuits. There is legal discussion that the Child Abuse Punishment Act exempts legitimate teacher guidance from liability, so measures to prevent the excessive filing of lawsuits due to student record entries must also be implemented simultaneously."

Meanwhile, teachers also appear to have a positive stance on the plan to record such information in the student record. According to an urgent survey on awareness and measures regarding teacher rights violations conducted by the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations from the 25th to 26th among 32,951 teachers nationwide from kindergarten to high school, 89.1% (29,345 teachers) supported recording disciplinary actions against students who violate teacher rights in the student record.

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