Violence Against Teachers (교사 폭행)

Infringement of teachers' authority in which students, parents, or third parties inflict physical or psychological violence on teachers

Violence Against Teachers (교사 폭행)

Overview

Violence against teachers refers to acts in which students, parents, or third parties inflict physical or psychological violence on teachers. The concept has expanded beyond simple physical assault to include threats, insults, cyberbullying, and psychological harm through repeated complaints. Following the 2023 death of a teacher at Seoi Elementary School, social and legal responses to this most extreme form of infringement of teachers' authority began to be seriously discussed.

Key Details

Definition and Scope

In the narrow sense, violence against teachers means physical harm corresponding to the crimes of assault and bodily injury under the Criminal Act. In the broad sense, it encompasses all types of tangible and intangible harm that obstruct teachers' legitimate educational activities, and is defined as a core category of "infringement of educational activities" under the Special Act on the Improvement of the Status of Teachers and the Protection of Their Educational Activities (Teachers' Status Act).

Types

Physical assault: Direct harm such as pushing or hitting a teacher, or throwing classroom objects during class
Verbal assault and threats: Verbal abuse, personal attacks, death threats, sexual harassment
Cyber harm: Defamation and spreading of false information through parents' group chat rooms and social media
Emotional and administrative harm: Pressure on teachers through repeated malicious complaints and abusive reporting of child abuse
Assault by parents: Verbal abuse and assault after visiting the school office, dissemination of teachers' personal information

Causes

It has been pointed out that, amid the trend emphasizing students' rights, protections for teachers' authority became relatively weak. The mandatory reporting duty under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes has discouraged student guidance itself, and as parents' child-centered thinking and consumer awareness of education have strengthened, the structure of conflict with teachers has deepened. In addition, the lack of effectiveness of the Teachers' Rights Protection Committee and the leniency in handling cases are analyzed as factors that perpetuate the harm.

Legal Basis and Punishment

Criminal Act: Assault (Article 260), Bodily Injury (Article 257), Intimidation (Article 283), Insult (Article 311)
Teachers' Status Act: Provisions on requesting disciplinary action for infringement of educational activities, claims for damages, and deliberation and resolution by the Teachers' Rights Protection Committee
Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes: Becomes a point of contention because cases in which the perpetrator is a student may also be charged as child abuse crimes
School Violence Prevention Act: Violence against teachers can also be handled as school violence
2023 Five Laws on Protection of Teachers' Authority: Amendments to the Teachers' Status Act, the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, the School Violence Prevention Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Early Childhood Education Act stipulated the authority for student guidance and protection measures

Even if a student who assaults a teacher is of the age of a juvenile subject to protective disposition (10 to 14 years old), the case may be referred as a juvenile protection case, and those aged 14 or older are subject to criminal punishment. For assaults by parents, sentencing guidelines that impose heavier punishment than for ordinary assault are increasingly being applied.

Response System

Offices of education provide legal counseling, litigation support, and psychological treatment through Educational Activity Protection Support Centers. Each school has a Teachers' Rights Protection Committee in charge of case investigation and dispute mediation, and teachers may request a 119 report and immediate separation measures. Since 2024, reporting systems such as "Teachers' Rights Protection 119" have been in operation, and immediate separation and suspension of attendance for offending students have been strengthened.

Recent Trends

In 2024–2025, the norms for protecting teachers' authority entered a stage of institutional settlement. The amended Teachers' Status Act, which took effect in March 2024, expanded the participation of external members in the Teachers' Rights Protection Committee and stipulated written apologies and no-contact measures against offending students and parents. The Ministry of Education distributed guidelines through its "Comprehensive Measures for the Protection of Teachers' Authority" to prevent teachers' legitimate student guidance from being mistaken for child abuse, and introduced a procedure for prior consultation with the office of education when child abuse is reported.

In addition, as cases in which criminal punishment for assaults on teachers leads to actual prison sentences have increased, the perception that "infringement of teachers' authority is a crime" has spread. On the other hand, some voices raise concerns about side effects such as the balance between students' rights and teachers' authority and the deterrence of child abuse reporting. In the digital environment, collective complaints and defamation through parents' online communities have emerged as a new type of infringement of teachers' authority, and discussions are underway on platform responsibility and strengthening punishment for cyber defamation.