The Ministry of Education will revise the School Safety Act so that teachers are not held responsible for school safety accidents unless there is intent or gross negligence.
Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Ministry of Education on the 28th announced measures to support field trip learning at the Government Complex Sejong, including this plan. This follows President Lee Jae-myung saying at the Cabinet meeting on the 28th of last month, "You shouldn't get rid of the crock (external activities such as field trip learning) for fear that 'maggots (safety accidents)' might occur," adding, "Aren't you taking good opportunities away from students just to avoid taking responsibility?"
The Ministry of Education will expand the School Safety Act, which currently exempts teachers from civil and criminal liability only when they have "fulfilled their duty to take safety measures," to also include cases where there is no "intent or gross negligence." Previously, if a teacher failed to fulfill the duty to take safety measures, they could be punished even for ordinary negligence. However, if the revision passes the National Assembly, that will no longer be the case.
An official at the Ministry of Education said, "The duty to take safety measures itself is unclear, and there were many comments that it is practically difficult to comply with everything in the field," adding, "Investigative authorities will have to prove a teacher's intent or gross negligence, which will serve as grounds to protect teachers from safety accidents."
Asked whether the court's judgment might have been different if the above system had existed before the case in which a student died during a field trip in Sokcho, Gangwon, in 2022 and the homeroom teacher was convicted, the Minister said, "I think so." However, the Minister added, "It does not seem appropriate to assume a situation and say 'that seems likely.'"
The Ministry of Education is distributing school safety accident management guidelines to schools for accidents that have occurred, and under the revision it will also prepare guidelines to prevent accidents that could occur. It will increase the amount of support for teachers' lawsuit expenses. Currently, up to 6.6 million won is provided per instance of trial. However, the specific support amount has not been finalized. As the compensation support ceiling was already increased earlier this year from up to 200 million won to 250 million won, it will not be further expanded this time.
Offices of education will assist with administrative tasks that teachers have handled during field trips, such as chartering buses and contracting with restaurants. Currently, the number of staff supporting field trip operations nationwide is about 30, and the Ministry of Education aims to increase this to 200. Furthermore, it will improve the standard for assigning assistant personnel who support teachers' student guidance from "1 per 50 students" to "1 per class."