Teachers' rights: 'Not enough change felt on the ground'

Promised expansion of political rights stalled without legal reform

Grants overhaul: 'Ministry failed to block fiscal authorities' cuts'

Union calls for policy shift on teacher staffing and workload

Participants call for amendments to the Child Welfare Act and the Act on Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes at a press conference held at the National Assembly, organized by the Teachers' Union, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union and the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, urging legal reforms to protect educational activities. [Yonhap]
Participants call for amendments to the Child Welfare Act and the Act on Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes at a press conference held at the National Assembly, organized by the Teachers' Union, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union and the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, urging legal reforms to protect educational activities. [Yonhap]

The Korean Teachers' Labor Union Federation has given Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin a critical assessment on the first anniversary of his appointment, saying he has fallen short on key issues including teachers' rights, educators' political freedoms and education finance.

In a statement released Friday, the federation said Choi had failed to demonstrate sufficient policy drive or a commanding presence as education minister, despite his background as a former teacher and school superintendent. "Knowing the classroom well is not enough," it said.

On teachers' rights, the union acknowledged that the system had been revised so that schools, rather than individual teachers, bear responsibility for handling complaints — but said anxiety on the ground persists. It said malicious complaints, unfounded child abuse reports, and legal liability arising from student guidance and field trips remain unresolved.

"Protecting teachers' rights should not be measured by how many policies were introduced, but by whether teachers can actually teach with peace of mind," the federation said.

The union also flagged the failure to translate promised expansions of educators' political rights into concrete legal or institutional change. While Choi has stated that teachers should be free to express political views outside school, no meaningful progress has been made on allowing party membership, political donations or political expression outside the classroom, it said.

The federation sharpened its criticism over the government's recent proposal to overhaul the local education grants system. It said that while Choi had consistently stressed the need for stable education funding and maintaining the current structure linking grants to domestic tax revenue, the Ministry of Education failed to block a government reform plan that would alter that linkage.

"Education funding should not be cut simply because student enrollment is falling," the union said, adding that new demands on the system — including special education, foundational learning support, student mental health, education welfare and reducing overcrowded classrooms — continue to grow.

The federation called for a shift in teacher staffing policy away from a student-count-based approach toward one that also accounts for the number of classes and evolving educational needs.

It also said the practice of piling new responsibilities onto schools and teachers whenever a new policy is introduced — without providing additional staff or administrative support — must change. "The first year in office is no longer a time for renewed promises; it is a time to be judged by results," the federation said. "We hope the minister will spend his remaining term turning the demands of the classroom into real policy, and genuinely defending teachers' rights and education funding."


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