Six Years of Classroom Surveillance, Refusal of Guidance, and Repeated Complaints ... Gyeongnam Teachers' Union Reports Elementary School Parent for Infringement of Teachers' Rights

The Gyeongnam Teachers' Union has called on the educational authorities to take strict action, including filing criminal charges, against a parent of a special education student at a local elementary school, alleging that the parent repeatedly infringed on teachers' rights by surveilling classes and filing complaints against teachers for the past six years.

The Gyeongnam Teachers' Union held a press conference in the briefing room of the Gyeongnam Office of Education on May 6, stating, "A single parent’s malicious complaints and indiscriminate child abuse reports have completely destroyed a school."

According to the union, Parent A has, since 2021—when their child, Student B, a designated recipient of special education under the Special Education Act, was in first grade—filed malicious complaints and lawsuits against more than ten staff members, including teachers, special education teachers, and the principal, accusing them of child abuse, threats, and defamation. This has continued for six years through to the present, with Student B now in sixth grade.

Since Student B was in the first grade, Parent A demanded to be present in the classroom, took Student B home at will regardless of the teacher's intentions, or took the child out of class for meals in the cafeteria; the parent refused teachers’ efforts to prevent Student B from leaving the classroom and sometimes interrupted lessons by forcing teachers to stop their instruction.

This situation continued repeatedly. Last year alone, as Student B advanced to higher grades, three different homeroom teachers were assigned, and one of them left the profession after attempting to take their own life.

Elementary school teachers in the province are holding a press conference in the briefing room of the Gyeongnam Office of Education, claiming repeated infringements on teachers' rights by a parent.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

Teacher C, who was Student B’s fifth-grade homeroom teacher during the first semester and attended the press conference, said, "From the very beginning of the semester, the parent entered the classroom, remained present, and frequently intervened by holding and directing the child directly." The teacher continued, "The parent demanded that I send all lesson contents and materials, claiming they were unsuitable for the child. When I refused the parent's classroom observation due to psychological stress, the parent would watch the classes from outside the classroom."

The teacher added, "The presence of an outsider constantly in the classroom made the students extremely tense during lessons. I suffered from severe eating disorders and psychosomatic symptoms to the point that I could not even eat lunch, and ultimately, I was forced to resign as homeroom teacher after just one semester."

Teacher C further explained, "Teacher D, who took over as homeroom teacher in the second semester, suffered permanent injury after being pushed and falling while trying to restrain Student B’s sudden behavior. Despite this, the parent demanded understanding. When Teacher D was poked in the face with a paper airplane by the student, the parent accused the teacher of being aggressive and demanded the homeroom teacher be replaced. Subsequently, Teacher D developed panic disorder and was hospitalized after taking a large amount of medication, having received psychiatric treatment. The teacher is now suffering after retirement."

Afterwards, Parent A received a written apology order (the first level of disciplinary action) from the Teachers’ Rights Protection Committee but objected by filing an administrative appeal, and later reported the principal—who had accepted complaints and sought to protect Teacher D—to the police for child abuse.

Special education teacher E stated, "Since November 2025, Student B has left school grounds without permission 21 times, running across roads and bridges over rivers. However, the parent blamed me, claiming I provoked the child by blocking the door in an attempt to ensure the child’s safety."

The teacher continued, "Student B repeatedly engaged in sexual contact and deviant behavior, such as touching me and a volunteer’s body parts or kissing other students, but the parent insisted these were acts of pure love or self-defense mechanisms. I have now been diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression, and I find it nearly impossible to get through a day without medication."

Current sixth-grade homeroom teacher F said, "Although Student B repeatedly makes inappropriate physical contact with other students, Parent A defines this as an innocent expression of affection or request for help and obstructs any guidance. When I sent a notice outlining the principles of protecting teachers’ sexual autonomy and safety, the parent accused me of defamation by claiming the child was being branded a sex offender, and filed a lawsuit for intimidation."

The teacher added, "Even when the student ran barefoot onto the road outside the school, the parent refused to allow any physical restraint, so all I could do was follow the child to ensure safety. When I told the parent that refusing physical restraint endangered the child’s safety, I was sued for defamation, and when I tried to protect the child without physical contact by locking the back door, I was reported for child abuse."

Chungsoo Lee, Chairman of the Kyungnam Teachers' Union, is holding a press conference in the briefing room of the Kyungnam Office of Education, claiming repeated violations of teacher authority by parents of sixth-grade students at an elementary school in the province.
[Photo by Seryeong Lee]

The teachers emphasized, "This grim cycle of teacher rights violations must be broken. Infringement of teachers’ rights is an act that threatens teachers’ lives and undermines educational sites by abusing the law."

They continued, "Please create an environment that guarantees at least a minimum level of human dignity so that teachers can love and educate children again. We want to teach children table manners so they can enjoy meals with others, help them learn to respect boundaries, and guide them to become healthy members of society."

Lee Choongsu, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Teachers' Union, said, "As students grow, they become stronger and bigger, making it increasingly difficult for teachers to restrain them. There is a need for measures to protect both teachers and students from students’ sudden behaviors."

He added, "Malicious complaints that assert only certain rights are seriously infringing on the learning rights and safety of the majority of students, as well as threatening teachers’ sexual autonomy and physical safety. The Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education must immediately file criminal charges against the offending parent for obstruction of official duties and false accusations."

He also noted, "Although there is a Teachers’ Rights Protection Committee, it is practically impossible to request a meeting due to fear of being labeled as having conflicts with parents or being perceived as incompetent. Even when disciplinary action is issued, there is no way to enforce compliance or impose penalties if the order is ignored. The educational authorities must thoroughly reform the ineffective Teachers’ Rights Protection Committee system and establish strong measures to ensure the enforcement of its decisions."

An official from the Gyeongnam Office of Education stated, "We are aware of the issues at the school in question, but the Teachers’ Rights Protection Committee has not yet decided to request the superintendent to file charges against the parent. We are monitoring the situation. If coordination fails or if any violations of the law occur, the superintendent will respond directly, including filing charges if necessary."

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