A school counseling room at an elementary school in Jeju, where a student allegedly assaulted a teacher in April / Courtesy of Jeju Teachers’ Union
Education authorities in Jeju are investigating an incident where an elementary school student allegedly assaulted a teacher for about 20 minutes in a state-run school counseling program.
The assault took place in mid-April, according to the Jeju City Office of Education and Jeju Teachers' Union.
During the confrontation, the student punched and kicked the teacher and threw a chair and other objects. The teacher suffered injuries to the hands and feet, requiring two weeks of treatment. The teacher took sick leave and has received treatment for insomnia, anxiety and depression.
The regional teachers' rights protection committee under the Jeju City Office of Education opened an investigation on April 20 at the teacher's request.
"I hope what I went through does not happen again," the teacher said through the Jeju Teachers' Union. "I also hope proper measures will be taken so the student can reflect on his behavior, and that a safe educational environment will be created where teachers' mission and responsibility are not neglected."
The Jeju Teachers' Union said stronger protections for teachers are urgently needed. A union official said the case revealed the structural limits of a system in which one teacher must handle a student alone after they have been removed from the classroom for disciplinary reasons.
The union called for changes to the system and urged support from professional response teams, including teachers' rights protection committees, more teacher members on such panels, an overhaul of the school grievance response system, recovery support for teachers who have been harmed, and reviews of how school administrators protect teachers.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
