Teacher assaulted by third grader over marked answer as classroom violence rises

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A third-grade student at an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province physically assaulted their teacher after the student’s answer was marked incorrect, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education and the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on May 9 during class, when the student, identified as A, kicked their homeroom teacher B in the knee and verbally abused them. The student had a history of struggling to accept mistakes.

The teacher was placed on special leave and temporarily replaced by a substitute, but A continued to disrupt class and allegedly threatened the replacement teacher.

The school’s response has drawn criticism. The KTU accused the school of failing to protect the assaulted teacher and instead pressuring them to meet with the student’s parents. “This lack of separation and healing, combined with the expectation that teachers deal with complaints, amounts to secondary victimization,” the union said.

Although a revision to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act earlier this year gave schools a legal basis to separate teachers from abusive students, the KTU said budget constraints have prevented effective implementation.

The case has been submitted to the local teachers’ rights protection committee, with a decision expected in June.

A provincial education official said the teacher was granted five days of leave and that the principal had suggested a meeting with the parents, which the teacher interpreted as pressure to reconcile. The student and their parents submitted a written apology, but the teacher is said to have refused to accept it.

Rising parent complaints

The incident is the latest in a growing series of teacher assault cases across the country. In April, a high school senior in Seoul struck a teacher in the face with a phone during class, while in Busan, an elementary school student assaulted a teacher by hitting them in the face and head.

According to the Ministry of Education, 502 teacher assault cases were referred to local protection committees last year — a 4.7-fold increase from 106 in 2020.

Teacher stress related to parent complaints is also rising. On May 22, a middle school teacher in Jeju Island was found dead. The family said the teacher had been under severe mental strain from ongoing complaints by a student’s family.

KTU spokesperson Choi Sun-jung said, “Teachers are now seen as service providers, and parents demand personalized services for each child. But teachers are responsible for entire classrooms. Without proper staffing, schools can’t enforce separation policies even in serious cases.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.