100 Teachers from Elementary to High School Committed Suicide Over 6 Years... More Than Half Were Elementary School Teachers

Depression and Panic Disorder as Causes
11 Cases in the First Half of This Year Alone

A survey revealed that 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers have died by suicide over the past six years. More than half were elementary school teachers, and excluding cases with unknown causes, depression and panic disorder were the most common reasons for their deaths.

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

According to data collected by the office of Jeong Gyeong-hee, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee from the People Power Party, from 17 city and provincial education offices nationwide, 100 public elementary, middle, and high school teachers died by suicide from 2018 to the end of June this year.

Elementary school teachers accounted for the largest number at 57, followed by high school teachers at 28, and middle school teachers at 15. Considering that elementary teachers make up 44% of all elementary, middle, and high school teachers, the proportion of elementary teachers among those who died by suicide is high.

Excluding the 70 cases classified by the education authorities as ‘unknown cause,’ the most common cause leading to these deaths was ‘depression and panic disorder.’ More than half of the 30 cases, 16 (53.3%), fell into this category.

The number of teachers who died by suicide steadily increased from 14 in 2018 to 22 in 2021 over four years. It decreased to 19 last year, and 11 teachers died in the first half of this year.

On the 18th, a second-year elementary school teacher, Mr. A, was found dead at Seoi Elementary School. According to labor union claims, in the first-grade class where Mr. A was the homeroom teacher, students were drawing on each other’s foreheads with pencils, and afterward, Mr. A was reportedly harassed by malicious complaints from parents.

The labor union urged, "We hope the education authorities respond to the voices of teachers nationwide," and called for "prompt measures to protect teachers from false child abuse reports and indiscriminate complaints."

※ If you have difficult feelings such as depression or know family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1393, Mental Health Counseling 1577-0199, Lifeline 1588-9191, Youth Hotline 1388, the youth mobile counseling app ‘Da Deureojul Gae,’ KakaoTalk, and other services.

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