South Korea tightens law to protect teachers from annoying parents

South Korean protesters call for reform of controversial child protection laws Photo: AHN YOUNG-JOON/AP

South Korea tightens laws to protect teachers from pushy parents after nine weeks of protests sparked by the suicide of a 23-year-old primary school teacher in July.

The National Assembly has approved a new teacher rights restoration bill to support teachers who have been punished for complaints about their discipline style.

The bill includes ending automatic suspensions following reports of alleged child abuse, financial support teachers fighting lawsuits, and making school principals more accountable for supporting their staff.

The bill comes after a spate of deaths this summer. highlighted the pressures teachers face in a hyper-competitive society that places a high value on academic achievement, as well as the impact of malicious complaints from parents.

Protesters are calling for changes to controversial child protection laws passed in 2014, in which states that “harming the health or welfare of a child, or committing physical, mental or sexual violence or cruelty” constitutes child abuse.

The accused were automatically suspended from office, and offenses were punishable by law.

Flowers were laid by the teacher in memory of the 23-year-old teenager elementary school student who committed suicide in July Photo: JUN YONG-JAE/AFP

Teachers said sweeping laws prevent them from disciplining students and are being exploited by parents seeking to remove them from work.

«The successful passage of these laws was made possible by the efforts of teachers who took to the streets every week… we express our deep gratitude to them,» the Korean Federation of Teachers' Unions said after the bill's passage.

The chairman of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union also welcomed the law as “the first step towards normalizing public education and guaranteeing the authority of teaching.”

But he warned that without sufficient manpower and budget, the effectiveness of the laws could be limited and called for amendments to the Child Protection Act to ensure that disciplinary action against pupils is not considered child abuse.

< p>The legal changes follow a series of new government regulations designed to protect teachers, including a chatbot service in Seoul that will become the first port of call for parents to file complaints after months of protests and large-scale strikes.

The rules flared up after after a young elementary school teacher was found dead in her classroom in Seoul. Her diary later revealed that she was under intense pressure at work and was bombarded with complaints from her parents.

Several more cases have since emerged, and teachers have widely spoken of increasing criticism from parents desperate for their children. to succeed in a hyper-competitive education system where students have to struggle from an early age to achieve the outstanding grades needed to get into a top university.