By Kim Bo-eun
Some recent child abuse cases have shown that parents did not send their children to school, saying they would homeschool their children instead.
However, Korea has no regulations on homeschooling, and thus education authorities do not supervise homeschooling families. Critics say this leaves room for parents to abuse their children, enabling them to misuse homeschooling as an excuse to keep their children at home, which is a form of educational negligence.
Currently, homeschooling is not recognized as an official form of education. A law on elementary and secondary education states that parents are required to see that their children take part in compulsory education at the elementary and middle school levels. Those violating the act are subject to a 1 million won fine.
However, an education ministry official confirmed there have been no cases in which parents were fined for not sending their children to elementary and middle school, despite the numerous cases recently uncovered.
"According to law, schools are required to encourage parents to send their children to school, and it is the role of regional education offices to impose fines on the parents when they fail to do so," the official said, conceding that recent child abuse cases occurred as schools and education offices failed to carry out their roles.
However, he said the law is only about schooling children, adding that preventing abuse is another issue governed by the law on child welfare.
The law on child welfare states that parents should not neglect their children’s education by failing to provide them adequate instruction. Violations of this law are also punishable by a maximum five-year prison sentence and a fine of up to 30 million won.
However, the vague terms of the law make it difficult to determine what "neglecting their children’s education by failing to provide them proper instruction" is.
A welfare ministry official interpreted the law as "when intention of negligence is seen, or when parents do not send their children to school without any justifiable reason."
Some say there is a need to establish regulations on homeschooling for better supervision of parents who do not send their children to school.
In countries such as the U.S., where homeschooling is legal for all levels of education from preschool to university, public officials at education offices visit homeschooling families several times a year to check whether education is provided properly.
Regarding the calls to establish a law on homeschooling, however, the ministry official said, “Discussions first need to take place on whether to recognize homeschooling as a legitimate form of education.”
In one abuse case in Incheon discovered in December, an 11-year-old girl escaped from her home after years of starvation and physical violence. Her father did not let her go to school for more than two years, telling the authorities that they would homeschool her.
In another case discovered in January, a father allegedly beat his seven-year-old son to death at home in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, in November 2012. When officials at an elementary school asked the parents why the boy had not attended school, the parents claimed that they were homeschooling him.