The People Power Party and the government decided on the 17th to swiftly push ahead with the 'Hanul-i Law (Educational Public Service Act)' as a preventive measure against the death of the late Kim Ha-neul, who passed away due to a teacher at school. The plan includes urgent separation measures for high-risk teachers, dispatching emergency response teams, and enhancing the review process for mandatory leave and reinstatement through the 'Teaching Job Suitability Review Committee.' They also stated they would establish the principle of in-person handover for first and second-grade elementary students and expand the closed-circuit television (CCTV) in school blind spots and school police officers.
Kim Sang-hoon, chair of the People Power Party's policy committee, noted at the 'Party-Government Meeting for Strengthening School Safety' held in the National Assembly that the party and government would swiftly push for the so-called 'Hanul-i Law' to formulate fundamental measures, which include urgent separation measures for high-risk teachers who pose risks to those around them due to mental illnesses, dispatching emergency response teams, and various measures including mandatory leave through the so-called 'Teaching Job Suitability Review Committee' and strengthening the reviews during reinstatement.
Under the current system, there are no urgent separation measures or response team dispatches when a critical situation occurs, such as in the Hanul incident, and they aim to institutionalize this at a legislative level higher than the self-regulations or enforcement ordinances of each regional education office.
They also decided to strengthen the leave and reinstatement procedures. For teachers who have been separated due to mental illness, they plan to provide treatment support to assist their normal return. It was agreed to regularly conduct 'mental health self-assessments' for all teachers and that counseling and psychological treatment support are necessary. To facilitate this, they plan to develop customized psychological assessment tools for teachers in the first half of this year to encourage self-assessment of mental health among teachers.
Additionally, they decided to collaborate with 32 educational activity protection centers across the nation, 1,192 significant institutions, and 218 psychological support agencies to provide counseling and psychological treatment for all teachers.
Moreover, to alleviate parental anxiety, they decided to establish the principle of in-person handover for first and second-grade elementary school students participating in the Nelsum School program. The principle is to guide students to the school handover point and hand them over directly to guardians; however, exceptions will only be allowed with a consent form for voluntary return when a guardian wishes for free return. They also plan to ensure more than two support personnel for student returns after school staff have finished work and to develop a return notification system by each education office.
In addition, they decided to promote the expansion of the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in blind spots within schools and to increase the number of school police officers.
Parents of lower-grade elementary school students who attended the meeting that day suggested the need for ▲installation of CCTV in school safety blind spots ▲in-person handover measures ▲support measures to alleviate excessive work burdens on teachers ▲the necessity of a national control tower for diagnosing the reinstatement of high-risk teachers, Kim noted.
Kim stated, "I believe the safety of children will be enhanced through emergency separation measures and dispatches of emergency response teams, and a tailored support system for high-risk teachers will be established." He added, "I also expect the 'Disorderly Teacher Review Committee,' which has been criticized for being ineffectual due to this incident, to be legislated under the name of 'Teaching Job Suitability Review Committee' to restore its practical functionality."
There is broad agreement between the ruling and opposition parties on constructing tailored support systems for mental health diagnosis and treatment for teachers, sufficient breaks and leaves, and the reorganization of student return principles and school safety infrastructure.
However, 'teacher mental health evaluations' are expected to become a contentious issue in the forthcoming legislative process. The key factor will be to what extent the definition of 'high-risk teachers' will be set by the government and the ruling party.
The Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that the government and ruling party's urgent separation measures for teachers could potentially stigmatize 'high-risk teachers.' They argue that drawing conclusions about teachers' mental health issues could lead to adverse effects such as a chilling effect on educational activities. They view the cause of the Hanul incident as being due to the government's hastily implemented Nelsum School program, which did not allocate sufficient manpower and budget.
Baek Seung-ah, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, hinted at the imminent introduction of a bill during a press conference the previous day, stating, "Fear of stigma could lead individuals to conceal mental health crises and avoid treatment, thereby exacerbating their conditions," and noted that 'malicious complainants, school principals, and vice principals could exploit the system, leading to unjust urgent separations.