The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has launched what it says is the country's first group of dedicated officers aimed at protecting teachers' rights, expanding an initially planned 50-member group to 300 amid strong interest from applicants.
The officers will provide tailored one-on-one support to teachers facing false reports of child abuse, serious infringements of educational activities or malicious complaints, assisting them from initial reporting through case closure, according to the office on Tuesday.
The office held an inauguration ceremony Saturday at the Jowon Government Complex, formally launching the dedicated teachers' rights protection officer system, one of the policies promoted by Superintendent Ahn Min-seok.
"I made the decision to establish the dedicated teachers' rights protection officer system while thinking of the teachers who tragically passed away, unable to endure malicious complaints," Ahn said at the inauguration ceremony. "In an era without heroes, the true heroes are none other than you, the dedicated officers."
Ahn's remarks referred to a series of teacher deaths that have fueled concern over malicious complaints and infringements of teachers' rights in recent years. The issue drew nationwide attention after the death of a young teacher at Seoul's Seoi Elementary School in July 2023, which sparked large-scale protests by teachers.
The initiative is centered on a Teachers' Rights Protection Team under the direct supervision of the superintendent. It intends to bring together support functions that had previously been divided among different departments and agencies, allowing affected teachers to receive legal and psychological aid through a coordinated channel.
Open recruitment for the officers was conducted from July 15 to 28 and drew 1,823 applicants for the original 50 positions, or more than 36 applicants for each position.
Applicants included current and retired teachers, lawyers, doctors, current and former police officers, conflict mediators, counselors and former investigators of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, as well as other Gyeonggi residents.
Citing the unexpectedly large application pool, the Gyeonggi education office increased the number of officers from 50 to 300. After document screening, 512 candidates took part in group discussion interviews that spanned three days.
Ahn was present during the interview process, and final selections were based on an overall assessment of candidates' understanding of teachers' rights protection, problem-solving skills and conflict mediation capacities.
Among the 300 officers, 110 are teachers, 30 are Gyeonggi residents and 160 are professionals including lawyers, police officers, doctors and counselors. They will be assigned across four regional zones in Gyeonggi Province.
The office also plans to appoint nearly 1,200 applicants who were not selected but expressed interest as "citizen teachers' rights protection officers," while 100 lawmakers and provincial council members will serve as "honorary officers." Capacity-building training sessions were held on Aug. 13 and 18 on standardized case response procedures, legal practices and counseling.
Case handling will cover the process from receiving a report and assessing its urgency to providing emergency on-site assistance, analyzing the case, planning tailored support and following up after the case is closed.
Support may include separating teachers from alleged perpetrators, fact-finding, legal advice, psychological counseling and recovery programs, as well as measures aimed at restoring the school community.
The education office said it aims to establish the system as a permanent support structure covering prevention, response and recovery, reducing the legal and psychological burden on teachers and allowing them to focus more fully on teaching.
Ahn also declared an "all-out war against malicious complaints," saying he would delegate substantive authority related to teachers' rights protection to the officers.
"Teachers, just teach. We will protect you," he added.
shwang9@heraldcorp.com