"Discretionary School Closure for Seoicho Teachers' 49th Memorial Ceremony"... Confusion on Site Due to Differences Between Ministry of Education and Superintendent's Positions

Ministry of Education: "Discretionary school closures are illegal collective actions"
Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon: "We will protect teachers participating in memorials until the end"

On September 4, the 49th day memorial of the late Seo I Elementary School teacher, as each school contemplates designating a discretionary holiday, the Ministry of Education has labeled this as an "illegal collective action" and stated that it "plans to respond." However, the Superintendent of Education has declared, "We will protect the teachers who gathered to mourn until the end." The difference in stance between the Ministry of Education and the Superintendent has added to the confusion.

Currently, a considerable number of schools are discussing the designation of a discretionary holiday on September 4. Some schools have already decided to designate it as such.

Teachers gathered from all over the country attended the rally for the normalization of public education held near Gyeongbokgung Station intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 29th of last month, wearing black attire to commemorate the late homeroom teacher of Seoi Elementary School.
Photo by Yonhap News

In response, on the 24th, the Ministry of Education defined the designation of a discretionary holiday as "an attempt to disrupt the normal academic operations of the second semester," adding, "Discretionary holidays cannot be newly designated during the semester unless there is an emergency situation such as a disaster. This case does not fall under such circumstances." The press release issued by the Ministry on that day also described it as an "illegal collective action movement."

The Ministry of Education also closely monitored the collective use of leave by teachers that day. They stated, "Teachers cannot take leave on school days unless there is a special reason," and "We have informed that this case does not qualify as such a special reason."

However, the stance of Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education for Seoul, is completely different from that of the Ministry. On the previous night, Superintendent Cho posted a letter titled "Appealing for the Restoration of the Educational Community with the Heart of a Bereaved Family" on the education office’s website, stating, "We hope that Seoul schools will commemorate in various ways suitable to their circumstances. Some schools have decided on discretionary holidays. We will protect and stand with the teachers who gathered on September 4 with hearts of mourning and condolence until the end." The consensus is that this effectively means allowing discretionary holidays.

Superintendent Cho promised, "I clearly assure the teachers that the passion to teach children better will never be subject to punishment," and added, "We will devote all efforts to improving laws and systems in this regard."

Earlier, nationwide teachers had announced plans to engage in collective actions in the form of 'circumventive strikes' through collective leave or sick leave on the 4th of next month, the 49th day memorial of the late Seo I Elementary School teacher who passed away last month.

Citizens visiting Seoi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are paying tribute to the late teacher Mr. A.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations stated, "Regarding the 'September 4 Public Education Stop Day and Rally,' above all, we cannot ignore the burden that teachers themselves did not protect the precious learning rights of students regardless of the situation," and proposed, "We suggest holding a memorial service around 7 to 8 p.m. after school work hours."

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