"Children Were Shocked During Sports Day": Seeking Solutions to Civil Complaints Burdening Teachers

Cheon Haram Highlights Collapse of Teachers' Authority During Interpellation

Many Elementary Schools Ban Sports During Lunch and After School

The "National Assembly Interpellation to the Government" is an opportunity for a single lawmaker to freely question the Prime Minister as well as relevant ministers. Although it is possible to ask questions about current issues during standing committee meetings, both the range of topics and the targets of questioning are limited. In contrast, the interpellation to the government takes place in the plenary session, where, for just over 20 minutes, government officials and fellow lawmakers listen as the questioner uses the format of inquiry to scrutinize government actions and potentially reverse policy directions.

However, within political circles, the interpellation to the government has often been treated as an event that fails to attract much attention. This is because it is frequently used either to confirm the government’s stance on current issues, to engage in verbal sparring with the Prime Minister or ministers, or as a channel to convey local civil complaints to the government. Cheon Haram, Floor Leader of the Reform New Party, took a different approach on April 13. During the interpellation on education, society, and culture, he focused on a single topic and engaged in an intense debate with Prime Minister Kim Minseok and other relevant ministers.

An elementary school sports day scene. This photo is not directly related to any specific content of the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

The topic was school playgrounds. His real objective was to use the issue of playgrounds devoid of children as a starting point to seek solutions to the problem of civil complaints that place an excessive burden on teachers.

At the beginning of the interpellation, Floor Leader Cheon presented some alarming statistics.

"Across the country, I was informed that 212 elementary schools prohibit soccer on the playground during lunchtime or after school."

"In Busan, one-third of all elementary schools—105 schools—ban sports activities such as soccer on their playgrounds."

Cheon Haram, Floor Leader of the Reform New Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Children have disappeared from the playgrounds. The cause was civil complaints.

There were various types of complaints, including "It's too noisy," "Children get hurt," and "My child can't play because of older kids." Teachers, whose authority was already weakened, found themselves helpless in the face of all these complaints.

Teachers’ fears were so severe that even the prospect of raising this issue for public debate caused concern. When the lawmaker’s office attempted to conduct a related survey, there were worries that it might trigger another flood of civil complaints.

Sports days were no exception.

Floor Leader Cheon pointed out to Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung that police patrol cars are dispatched to schools on sports day due to noise complaints. He said, "In 2018, there were 77 noise complaints about sports days, but this number has continued to rise and reached 350." Referring to what elementary school teachers have told him, he added, "Police patrol cars show up at schools during sports day, and the children are shocked." He went on to say, "These kinds of complaints should really be tolerated, and even if the police have to be dispatched, it should be after the sports day is over. Shouldn't we be able to ask whether these excessive complaints are reasonable?"

Cheon also pressed Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin, saying, "Isn't it going too far to ban soccer during lunchtime or after school at elementary schools? Some schools are telling students to 'do nothing' because of accidents, risks, or complaints. The minister should boldly state that this is not acceptable."

However, the crux of his questions was not to demand the issuance of a ministerial directive. The real issue raised through the interpellation was the need to find an answer to how to address civil complaints that are causing teachers to shrink back.

Cheon stated, "We need a system for handling civil complaints so that teachers do not have to worry about them." He explained, "Currently, complaints are received by the principal or the administration office, and then the responsibility is passed back to the homeroom teacher." He went on, "In cases that arise during the course of work, there should be a 'state responsibility system for teacher lawsuits,' for example, providing a lawyer from the education office so that any police investigations are handled by the education office, not the teacher."

On this day, Minister Choi also used his response to the interpellation to appeal to the public. He said, "In many schools across our country, not only students and teachers but also parents take the lead in organizing sports days as community festivals. For schools that do not have such traditions, I ask that you respect the examples set by these schools and, at least once a year, regard and encourage children's festivals as something to be cherished."

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