Jeonnam Assemblyman Jaetae Lee: "Serious Lack of Measures Against School Violence Targeting Multicultural Students"

"Already 59% of Last Year's Total as of September"
Concerns Over Rising Number of Victims
Urgent Need for Customized Response Such as Dedicated Reporting Channels and Counseling Staff

Jaetae Lee, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Naju 3rd district), pointed out during the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education administrative audit held on November 4 that, despite the continued occurrence of school violence against multicultural students, the Office of Education's response system remains inadequate.

According to data submitted by the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, the number of multicultural students who suffered from school violence was recorded as 153 in the 2023 academic year, 130 in the 2024 academic year, and 77 as of September in the 2025 academic year.

Jaetae Lee, Former Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

Assemblyman Lee stated, "Even though the 2025 figure is as of September, it already amounts to 59% of the previous year's total. If projected through the end of the year, the number is likely to increase, and in reality, there are probably many cases that are concealed or unreported."

For three consecutive years, verbal and physical violence have been the most common types of victimization, and cases of cyberbullying have also continued to occur. However, the Office of Education has been criticized for failing to adequately establish dedicated reporting channels for multicultural students, interpretation and counseling systems, and for not securing enough professional counselors.

By school level, middle school students accounted for the highest proportion of victims in the 2025 academic year, at 47% (28 students). However, there are virtually no specific response systems in place, such as prevention and recovery programs or the deployment of multicultural specialist counselors for middle school students.

During the administrative audit, Assemblyman Lee proposed: ▲ separate management of school violence statistics for multicultural students, ▲ establishment of a focused management system for middle schools, ▲ creation of an online and multilingual reporting platform, ▲ deployment of dedicated counseling personnel, and ▲ operation of recovery support programs for victimized students.

He emphasized, "Multicultural students are forced into silence due to language barriers and cultural isolation," adding, "The Jeonnam Office of Education must shift from a 'general student average policy' to a 'customized protection system.'"

In response, Kim Youngshin, Director of Education, stated, "We will strengthen school violence prevention programs for multicultural students and comprehensively promote an increase in the number of professional counselors and the establishment of region-specific management systems."

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