New superintendents put teacher protection at top of policy agenda

A scene from Netflix original series "Teach You a Lesson" / Courtesy of Netflix

Newly elected education superintendents nationwide are making teacher protection their top priority amid growing calls to restore the classroom authority of educators, fueled in part by the popularity of the hit Korean drama "Teach You a Lesson," which highlighted the erosion of such authority.

Each regional education office is planning to establish a superintendent-led body that will report teacher rights violations directly to the superintendent, enabling swift intervention and providing schools and teachers with a one-stop support system.

Ahn Min-seok, superintendent of Gyeonggido Office of Education, has been at the forefront of calls to strengthen teacher protection.

Having made the issue a key campaign pledge, he announced plans to establish a dedicated administrative body modeled after the fictional education rights protection bureau featured in the drama.

The proposed organization would intervene immediately when teacher rights violations occur, providing affected teachers with protection measures and legal support while coordinating a rapid response by schools and the education office.

Compared with the existing system, Ahn said the new body would ensure a more comprehensive and immediate response to such rights violations, while allowing the superintendent to respond directly to complaints from parents when necessary.

Many new superintendents made teacher protection policies as their first official policy approvals after taking office, signaling their commitment to strengthening the system.

Lee Byung-do, superintendent of Chungcheongnamdo's education office, made teacher protection as his first policy action after taking office on Wednesday, signing off on the launch of a superintendent-led task force to establish a special office for teacher protection.

The new office will serve as a dedicated body to protect teachers’ educational activities from being undermined by malicious complaints, child abuse allegations and conflicts with parents.

Gangwon Superintendent Kang Sam-young started off his term with authorizing a superintendent-led task force and a specialized recovery center for affected teachers.

The move seeks to remove the burden of responding to rights violations from individual teachers by putting up a rapid, institution-led system that safeguards both teaching and learning rights.

Jeju Superintendent Ko Eui-suk pointed to the drama while emphasizing the urgency of institutional reform. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education is planning to establish a superintendent-led bureau to coordinate support for teachers affected by rights violations and assist schools in responding to such cases.

Education offices are also moving to strengthen legal support for teachers by expanding and reinforcing existing systems.

The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education plans to expand the role of its educational activities protection center, which was established in 2019. It will introduce an artificial intelligence-powered call recording system to help respond to malicious complaints while safeguarding teachers' personal information.

The Jeonbuk State Office of Education, meanwhile, is planning to strengthen legal support by having a panel of lawyers represent teachers throughout the litigation process in cases stemming from malicious complaints, expanding beyond the current system of legal fee support and proxy criminal complaints.