President Lee Jae-myung on the 30th ordered ministries to gather opinions from all walks of life, including teachers, parents, and experts, through an open debate process regarding school field trips, and to prepare measures to resolve the unfairness of the legal liability teachers must bear. Lee recently made a public remark suggesting that the trend of not going on "picnics and school trips" is related to schools' attitudes, and, as teachers' backlash intensified, he told officials to gather opinions from stakeholders.
According to Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Lee that afternoon presided over a senior secretaries' meeting at the Blue House and said, "Have the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice review whether there is any unreasonable burden in teachers' legal liability and scope of immunity."
The directive came two days after Lee openly criticized at a Cabinet meeting on the 29th schools that are not going on picnics or school trips due to recent safety concerns. At the time, Lee said at the meeting, "If it's a safety issue, provide expense support to bolster safety personnel, or if it burdens teachers' classes or management, hire additional staff and take them along," adding, "It is depriving students of a good opportunity to avoid taking responsibility."
He also said, "When I was in fifth grade, my school trip to Gyeongju has remained a lifelong memory, and I learned a great deal through that process," and, "You shouldn't throw away the crocks just because you worry 'maggots might appear.'" He told Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Ministry of Education to "pay special attention."
In response, teachers' associations and unions simultaneously issued statements calling it "a very inappropriate expression that is out of touch with reality." The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) said, "Legal and administrative protections for teachers are lacking, and the workload is severe," while the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union said, "The maggots (safety accidents) not only strip teachers of their positions but also make them criminals, an atrocious situation." The teachers' union also said, "Explaining the present with memories of the past sets the very starting point of policy judgment wrong."