By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

Police are considering charging progressive teachers who campaigned to oppose state-administered tests for elementary and secondary schools.

Police in Ulsan are considering measures to punish teachers, who encouraged 1,380 of their colleagues in the city to join a campaign to scrap the standardized exam, on charges of violating the Civil Servants Law that bans government workers taking part in collective action.

Police will discuss the details with the prosecution and have requested the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education to submit a list of those who led the campaign.

Ahead of the state test for elementary and secondary schoolers on March 31, the Korean Teachers & Education Worker's Union's (KTU) branch in the city collected signatures from 1,380 teachers for a petition demanding the abolishment of the uniform test.

The authorities in the city already ordered each school to ask teachers why they signed a petition calling for the scrapping of the test and report the list to the police.

In response, the KTU branch said the education office was trying to suppress teachers and asked for an apology from the superintendent for what they call the oppression of teachers.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr