The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has selected 300 dedicated personnel for the protection of teachers' rights and will hold an inauguration ceremony on the 22nd of this month, launching full-scale efforts to safeguard teachers' rights.

The newly selected dedicated teachers' rights protection officers consist of 160 professionals—including lawyers, doctors, and police officers—110 teachers, and 30 Gyeonggi Province residents. They encompass experts from diverse fields, including conflict mediation specialists, counselors, former National Human Rights Commission investigators, and international behavioral analysis experts. These officers will provide one-on-one dedicated support to teachers experiencing difficulties due to false child abuse reports, serious infringements on educational activities, and malicious complaints, from the initial stage of an incident through to its resolution.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education plans to conduct capacity-building training for the officers on the 13th and 18th, and to appoint approximately 1,400 willing applicants from this recruitment drive as "Citizens' Teachers' Rights Protection Officers."

■ Superintendent Ahn Min-seok Steps In Directly... Files First Criminal Complaint Against Parent of Bucheon Ojeong Elementary School

Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok is personally leading the Office of Education's Teachers' Rights Protection Team and has designated the teachers' rights infringement incident that occurred at Bucheon Ojeong Elementary School as the first major case.

The incident involved a teacher who, after mediating a dispute between students, received a complaint from a parent and was subsequently subjected to a criminal complaint for child abuse and a civil lawsuit. The parent is also reported to have held a picket protest in front of the school. The Teachers' Rights Protection Committee determined that the parent's actions constituted an infringement on educational activities.

At a press conference held on the 10th in the conference room of the Provincial Office of Education in Suwon, Superintendent Ahn stated, "Regarding the serious infringement on educational activities that occurred at Ojeong Elementary School, I will personally visit Bucheon Ojeong Police Station today to submit a criminal complaint filed in the name of the Superintendent." This is the first case of a parent being reported for infringing on teachers' rights since Superintendent Ahn took office.

Superintendent Ahn explained that although the parent expressed intentions to apologize to the teacher and withdraw the lawsuit, he decided to file the criminal complaint after careful consideration of the positions of the teacher and the school.

He emphasized, "This is a complaint that demonstrates the Superintendent's will not to tolerate actions that destabilize schools and threaten teachers," and added, "We can no longer stand by and watch the reality where legitimate educational activities crumble in the face of malicious complaints and threats, and teachers' dedication is met with reports and lawsuits instead."

He further stated, "We will respond strictly in accordance with the law and principles against any acts that seriously infringe upon the safety and dignity of teachers."