Investigation into 'Temporary Teacher Death' Reveals Verbal Abuse and Threats from Parents

Seoul Office of Education Investigation Results Announced
Malicious Complaints from Parents of School Violence Perpetrators

In January, an investigation into the case of a temporary teacher in Seoul who took an extreme measure revealed that there were excessive complaints, threats, and verbal abuse from parents.

On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Public Interest Reporting Center held a press conference with the bereaved family at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and announced the results of the investigation related to the deceased.

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The deceased, Mr. Oh, worked as a temporary homeroom teacher at Sangmyung University Affiliated Elementary School in Jongno-gu, Seoul, from March to August last year, and died by an extreme measure on January 15 of this year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Public Interest Reporting Center conducted an internal audit regarding the death of the deceased and announced the investigation results on this day.

The investigation found that, as claimed by the bereaved family, the deceased frequently had to work overtime while serving as a temporary teacher. He was also responsible for homeroom duties and had to respond individually to parents' demands and complaints through his personal mobile phone during weekends and after work hours at night.

Moreover, in June last year, conflicts arose among students, leading to complaints from parents on both sides, which caused the deceased to suffer from severe stress. This incident was known as a school violence case. The deceased even recorded a video reenacting the students' conflict situation and sent it to the parents. During this process, one parent demanded an apology from another student, and the father of one student threatened the deceased by saying he would "report to the police." The bereaved family claimed that the parents threatened the deceased with remarks such as "I will make you eat bean rice" and "You will never stand on the teaching platform again."

The deceased suffered from feelings of self-blame, injustice, and helplessness after receiving criticism and complaints from parents. Eventually, he visited a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with depression. The hospital judged that "the deceased's death was due to pathological behavior, and there is a causal relationship between the illness and the death."

This investigation was conducted through interviews with the bereaved family, review of the deceased's medical and counseling records, interviews with parents, securing notes from work diaries, and two audits of Sangmyung University Affiliated Elementary School. Forensics on the deceased's mobile phone and other electronic devices secured text messages and call records exchanged with parents.

The audit team stated, "It is acknowledged as a fact that the deceased complained of mental distress due to excessive complaints and threatening remarks from parents," and added, "As a result, it is judged that the deceased was diagnosed and treated for depression while experiencing negative mental emotions such as fear, helplessness, guilt, and frustration, eventually leading to death."

However, no violations of laws by the school or administrators were confirmed. The team requested correction regarding the inappropriate management of staff working hours.

The bereaved family submitted an application for industrial accident compensation insurance benefits to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service and stated that they are considering criminal charges against the parents who made verbal abuse and threats.

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