The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has launched a "teacher rights protection officer" system that provides one-on-one support to teachers subjected to infringements on educational activities from the time a case arises to its conclusion. It is effectively a real-world version of the fictional "Teacher Rights Protection Bureau" that tackles teacher rights violations in the Netflix drama "True Education." However, unlike the inspectors in the drama, they have no authority to intervene physically or punish offenders.
On the 22nd, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education held a launch ceremony at the Jowon government complex, officially kicking off the work of 300 teacher rights protection officers. Gyeonggi is the first in the country to introduce the teacher rights protection officer system. In addition to the officers, citizen teacher rights protectors, honorary teacher rights protection officers, students, and parents attended the ceremony.
Teacher rights protection officers provide one-on-one support from the initial stage to the end of a case when a teacher is reported for child abuse, suffers a serious infringement on educational activities, or faces malicious complaints. Participants include professionals from various fields such as teachers and Gyeonggi residents, as well as lawyers, doctors, counseling experts, and police. The system bundles support for fact-finding, legal advice, psychological counseling and recovery, and follow-up management.
There is also a link between the drama "True Education" and real policy. Gyeonggi Superintendent An Min-seok spotlighted protecting teacher rights as a key campaign pledge during the election process, and after the drama became a hit, he put forward a plan for a teacher rights protection organization inspired by the on-screen "Teacher Rights Protection Bureau" for public discussion. Released in June, "True Education" is a drama about a fictional government agency, the "Teacher Rights Protection Bureau," which protects teacher authority undermined by over-the-line students, parents, and teachers.
In reality, teacher rights protection officers do not wield unlimited authority like in the drama. Rather than an organization that directly punishes offending students or parents, it focuses on connecting teachers who suffer rights infringements with needed counseling and legal and psychological support.
Some say the effectiveness of the new system needs to be watched given that several mechanisms to respond to teacher rights violations already exist. After the Seo 2 Elementary School case in 2023, related laws were revised, and the duties of the school-level teacher rights protection committee were transferred to regional teacher rights protection committees under the local education support offices. The education office has also set up an educational activities protection center to handle counseling and legal support for victimized teachers.
There is also a system that requires parents who infringe on teacher rights to undergo special education or psychotherapy and imposes fines if they fail to comply. However, according to the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA), actual fines imposed on guardians who did not comply with teacher rights protection measures totaled just one case last year and four cases from January to July this year.
Superintendent An said, "We will declare an all-out war on malicious complaints," adding, "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will take groundbreaking measures to ease administrative burdens as much as possible so teachers can focus solely on teaching." He added, "Teachers should only have to teach. We will protect you."