Incheon Special Education Teacher Who Died from Overwork Recognized as Public Official Who Died in Service-Related Accident

In 2024, a special education teacher who died after being overworked was recognized as a public official who died in the line of duty due to a service-related accident.

According to the Emergency Measures Committee for Fact-Finding into the Death of an Incheon Special Education Teacher on the 10th, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs recently designated Teacher A, a special education teacher in her 30s at an elementary school in Incheon, as a "person eligible for veterans’ compensation" (a public official who died in a service-related accident).

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is said to have determined, based on the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education’s fact-finding investigation report and other materials, that there was a causal relationship between Teacher A’s work and her death. Previously, in September 2024, the Ministry of Personnel Management had also recognized her death as occurring in the line of duty.

The Emergency Measures Committee condemned, saying, "Even though the state has recognized the deceased’s death as a 'public sacrifice,' the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education is evading responsibility and dragging its feet in its administrative response."

They urged, "Last month, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education decided to impose disciplinary measures on five people in connection with this case, but it has not disclosed the specific level of discipline," and added, "Do not defend lenient punishment; instead, request a re-examination of the disciplinary decisions."

The Emergency Countermeasures Committee for Fact-Finding into the Death of an Incheon Special Education Teacher is urging the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education to punish those responsible. Yonhap News

Previously, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education convened a disciplinary committee and decided to impose severe disciplinary action on one of the five people, and minor disciplinary action or measures such as cautions and warnings on the other four.

The Emergency Measures Committee filed a criminal complaint with the police against these five individuals in November 2024 on charges including abuse of authority. The police assigned the case to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, which is currently conducting an investigation.

In the complaint, the Emergency Measures Committee argued, "The deceased was responsible for up to eight students, exceeding the legal maximum of six, and requested that this be corrected, but the education office refused, saying, 'In Incheon, the standard is nine students per special class.'"

They continued, "The accused had the authority to assign special education teachers to the deceased’s class, yet they did not increase the number of special classes and ignored requests to assign a fixed-term teacher," and added, "They abused their authority and forced the deceased to perform duties that were not required of her."

Teacher A was in charge of a class of eight special education students, including students with severe disabilities, and was overworked, handling up to 29 class hours per week, before she died on October 24, 2024.

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