Sooki Kwon, Gyeongnam Superintendent Candidate: "Upholding Teachers' Rights Is Essential for Proper Education"

From the "Teacher Rights Protection 118" Report
to Complete Recovery: A One-Stop Responsibility System

On April 19, Sooki Kwon, a preliminary candidate for Superintendent of Education of Gyeongnam Province, announced a comprehensive plan to protect teachers' rights and restore authority in the education field following frequent violations of teachers' rights.

Kwon Sugi, Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education preliminary candidate.

Photo by Kwon Sungi

Kwon emphasized, "As infringements on teachers' rights have become a daily occurrence, teachers are now in an environment where it is difficult to focus on teaching," adding, "Only when teachers' rights are properly upheld can students' rights to learn also be protected."

The core of this plan is to establish a constant response system at the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education level. Kwon stated that a "Teacher Rights Protection Task Force" would be established within each city and provincial office of education to exclusively handle cases of infringement and to put in place a system that enables swift intervention from the early stages of incidents.

The task force will be composed of legal professionals, education experts, and counselors, aiming to reduce the burden on schools and provide substantial protection for teachers.

In particular, the plan is to build a system that provides immediate legal and administrative support to teachers so they do not have to respond to violations alone.

If civil or criminal disputes occur, the education office will handle the appointment of lawyers and provide litigation support, while dedicated staff will assist with administrative procedures so that teachers can focus on teaching and guiding students.

Measures to protect teachers from malicious complaints and indiscriminate reports will also be strengthened. For repeated and baseless complaints, restrictions or streamlined response procedures will be introduced according to certain standards to reduce the unnecessary workload on teachers.

Support for teachers' psychological recovery will be greatly expanded. To alleviate mental stress and burnout caused by violations of teachers' rights, professional counseling, psychological healing programs, and rest support systems will be enhanced. If necessary, a recovery-centered work environment will be provided for a set period.

Additionally, a proactive, prevention-oriented response system will be put in place. At the beginning of each semester, parents will receive a consent form outlining the protection of educational activities, and training on respecting teachers' rights will be conducted twice a year for students and parents. For teachers, regular training sessions and education on rights based on actual cases of infringement will be strengthened.

Kwon stated, "Protecting teachers is not a policy for a particular group, but an effort to safeguard public education as a whole," and added, "Starting from Gyeongnam, I will create a healthy educational ecosystem where teachers' and students' rights coexist in harmony."

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