Legislation to Address Haneul Incident Missed Due to 'Seolma' Will Be Enacted

Mandatory ‘Disease Teacher Review Committee’
Mental Health Examinations Before and After Teacher Appointments
Rising Demands for School Safety Measures
Expanding CCTV in Blind Spots, Increasing School Police Officers

The political sphere and government have decided to promote the so-called ‘Haneuli Act’ (tentative name), which includes measures to separate teachers who find it difficult to perform their duties due to mental illnesses from students, and to strengthen procedures to verify whether they can return to normal work upon reinstatement.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 13th, the ‘Haneuli Act’ will mandate the activities of the Disease Teacher Review Committee, which has been criticized as ineffective, and allow superintendents of education to recommend leave or resignation by their authority.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, met with superintendents of education from 17 metropolitan and provincial offices the day before and said, "For teachers who find it difficult to perform their duties due to mental illnesses, necessary measures such as administrative leave can be taken following certain procedures."

Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the Emergency Committee of the People Power Party, also stated at the emergency committee meeting held this morning, "We will include in the ‘Haneuli Act’ a comprehensive management system related to teachers’ mental health and measures to help them receive treatment without any disadvantages." The plan is to mandate mental health examinations before and after teacher appointments, immediately exclude those showing related symptoms from work, and have them participate in treatment programs.

Upon reinstatement, a procedure will be established for the ‘Disease Leave Committee’ to verify whether normal work is possible. Currently, reinstatement is generally possible if the individual submits a hospital diagnosis stating that there is no difficulty in performing duties. The teacher who harmed Haneuli submitted a diagnosis on December 9 last year stating that "six months of stabilization is necessary" and applied for six months of medical leave, but was reinstated after 21 days upon receiving an opinion from the same doctor that "normal work seems possible."

The Haneuli case had several opportunities to be prevented and warning signs appeared, but many criticize that these chances were lost due to the ‘it can’t be’ mindset and negligence of the education authorities and school officials. The issue with the ‘diagnosis’ is a representative example, and although a supervisor from the Daejeon Office of Education visited the school on the day of the incident, no proactive measures were taken. Police investigations revealed that the teacher purchased the weapon on the very same day. Furthermore, the perpetrator showed warning signs by assaulting a fellow teacher days before the Haneuli incident.

As parental anxiety rises following the horrific incident just before the new school term, there are calls to expand CCTV installation in school blind spots. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, as of September last year, a total of 15,413 CCTVs were installed in 603 elementary schools in Seoul. However, these mainly cover school gates, hallways, and facility entrances. Although privacy concerns may arise, it is argued that limited expansion is necessary for ‘safety.’ There were no CCTVs in the second-floor hallway, after-school care room, or audiovisual room of the school where Haneuli was harmed. Kang Kyung-sook, a member of the Innovation Party for the Nation, proposed an amendment to the ‘School Violence Prevention Act’ on the same day, mandating the deployment of ‘school police officers’ and strengthening their roles and authority.

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