"Here, Tuition" Kindergarten Parent Throws Hundreds of Coins at Director

Frequent Cases of Parent Power Abuse and Malicious Complaints in Kindergartens
"Change the Bus Route" Request Rejected, Accused of "Child Abuse"
"Kindergartens Neglected in Teacher Protection Measures... Need for Discussion"

Following the death of a teacher at Seo-i Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, numerous cases of teacher rights violations have surfaced, showing a pattern similar to the 'Me Too' movement, and reports of victimization among kindergarten teachers have also emerged.

This photo is not directly related to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

According to the Seoul Shinmun on the 27th, the teachers' union of public kindergartens affiliated with the Teachers' Labor Union Federation recently surveyed its members to identify cases of teacher rights violations, revealing numerous instances where kindergarten teachers suffered due to 'parental power harassment.'

In 2019, at a public kindergarten in Seoul, a parent identified as A reportedly converted an unpaid tuition fee of about 29,000 won into hundreds of 10-won and 100-won coins and threw them at the kindergarten principal.

A is said to have committed this act out of anger after the kindergarten repeatedly requested payment of the long-overdue tuition. The affected principal stated, "I had to endure verbal abuse and insults that are difficult to put into words."

In 2020, at a public-affiliated kindergarten in Gyeongbuk, a parent B demanded that the school bus pass by their home first. When the teacher explained that this was difficult due to operational principles, B reportedly verbally abused and threatened the teacher, saying, "People like you are called child abusers. Do you want to quit teaching?"

In March this year, at a kindergarten in Incheon, teacher C, who was struggling with parental complaints after mediating a dispute among children, began psychiatric treatment and took a six-month medical leave. The parents reportedly continued to file complaints demanding compensation of 2 million won for physical and mental damages from both the kindergarten and the teacher.

C said, "This is the first time in my 10 years of teaching that I have received psychiatric treatment," adding, "The parents kept making unreasonable demands for treatment costs, and I could no longer endure it."

Such cases are believed to be not uncommon. Among public kindergartens that only began tracking teacher rights violations last year, 100% (a total of 5 cases) of the violations were caused by parents.

Park Dasom, chairperson of the public kindergarten teachers' union, told Seoul Shinmun, "Currently, measures to protect teacher rights are being discussed within the formal system, but kindergartens are being neglected compared to elementary, middle, and high schools," emphasizing, "To protect all teachers from malicious complaints and parental power harassment, kindergarten teachers must also be included in these discussions."

"Some do not even realize they are entitled to teacher rights protection"

A kindergarten in Gyeonggi-do, unrelated to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, teachers at private kindergartens are also suffering from malicious parental complaints and violations of teacher rights. According to a 2020 thesis titled 'Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Kindergarten Teachers’ Rights,' cases of kindergarten teachers being spoken to disrespectfully and physically assaulted by parents were frequent.

In particular, 'power harassment' exploiting the urgent need for student recruitment at private kindergartens has occurred, and many early-career teachers are unaware that they are entitled to protection of their teacher rights.

The researchers explained, "Kindergarten teachers often do not fully understand the exact concept of teacher rights or the scope of violations, and they have limited opportunities to access related information or receive education on the matter."

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