More homeroom teachers asking to be replaced amid teachers rights dispute

As South Korea struggles with increasing reports of abuse against teachers, government data showed that a growing number of homeroom teachers are requesting to be replaced.

In 2023, 124 homeroom teachers were replaced at their own request, which is more than double compared the 54 who were in 2020, according to Ministry of Education data submitted to Rep. Jeong Sung-kook of the ruling People Power Party.

The figure has been rising for three years. It was 90 in 2021 and 118 in 2022, and 55 have already relinquished the post between January and July of this year.

More than half of the 203 homeroom teacher replacements last year occurred of the teacher's own volition. Homeroom teacher replacement itself has been generally on an upward trend since 71 in 2020, jumping to 142 in 2021 and 206 in 2022.

Of the homeroom teachers replaced last year, 61.6 percent -- 125 -- were working at elementary schools. Another 36 were middle school teachers and 42 were at high schools.

Regional education offices across the country have regulations that say homeroom teachers can be substituted when "an unavoidable situation occurs related to education." But more teachers have been giving up on the role in recent years, in light of a number of cases that involved students' parents undermining their authority and abuse against teachers.

A survey released in May indicated that 74.1 percent of the teachers in South Gyeongsang Province had been subjected to bullying in the past three years, according to the provincial branch of the Korean Teachers & Educational Worker's Union. Of those who said they were bullied, 87.3 percent said they were harassed by the principal or the vice principal, while 19.8 percent said they experienced bullying from parents.

Education Ministry data released last October showed that an overwhelming majority of such bullying goes unpunished. From January of 2020 to September of 2023, 748 cases of bullying against teachers were reported to the ministry.

But 523 of them did not lead to any action against the perpetrators.

A nationwide protest from the teachers for their rights erupted in the aftermath of the 2023 incident in Seoi Elementary School in Seoul, in which then-24-year-old teacher died by suicide after alleged excessive interference from her students' parents.

An investigation revealed that several parents communicated over the phone with the teacher concerning an incident where one student attacked another with a pencil, but the police did not find evidence of verbal abuse or the parents illegally influencing the investigation. The case was closed with no charges pressed, sparking protests from teachers across the country.

The number of homeroom teachers replaced at the request of the parents rose in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but slightly decreased since 2023, possibly due to fear of public criticism following the Seoi school incident. This figure went from 17 in 2020, 52 in 2021, 88 in 2022, but dipped slightly to 79 in 2023 and to 33 between January and July of this year.