Plenary Results
Plenary passes 8 items including amendment to the Special Act on the Improvement of Teachers’ Status and the Protection of their Educational Activities
- Jan 02, 2024
- 268
Plenary passes 8 items including amendment to the Special Act on the Improvement of Teachers’ Status and the Protection of their Educational Activities
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (Speaker: Kim Jin-pyo) passed 8 agenda items, including 4 bills, during the 8th plenary meeting of the 410th regular session held on September 21 (Thursday).
The motions for "Dismissal of the Prime Minister (Han Duck-soo),” the "Consent for the Arrest of National Assembly Member (Lee Jae-myung)," as well as "Impeachment of Prosecutor (Ahn Dong-wan)," were also passed.
* Motion for the Dismissal of the Prime Minister (Han Duck-soo)
: Total votes 295: 175 in favor, 116 against, 4 abstentions
* Consent for the Arrest of National Assembly Member (Lee Jae-myung)
: Total votes 295: 149 in favor, 136 against, 4 abstentions, 4 invalid
* Impeachment Recommendation for Prosecutor (Ahn Dong-wan)
: Total votes 287: 180 in favor, 105 against, 2 invalid
Major bills tabled for consideration are as follows:
An amendment to the “Special Act on the Improvement of Teachers’ Status and the Protection of their Educational Activities” adds criminal offenses including obstruction of performance of official duties, false accusations, and interference with business, as specified by the "Criminal Act," to the types of infringements on educational activities. It also adds acts that infringe on teachers' educational activities, which are criminally punishable under other laws, to such types of infringements. Acts such as repeatedly raising unjustified complaints and persistently coercing teachers to perform tasks that are unrelated to their legal obligations are included among infringements on educational activities.
Provisions are made to immediately separate the perpetrator from the affected teacher. In cases where a teacher is reported for child abuse, unwarranted dismissal without valid reasons is prohibited, and while investigations are proceeding, the superintendent of education is required to submit his/her opinion. The amendment prohibits the reduction or concealment of acts that infringe on teachers' educational activities by school principals, and if attempts at minimization or concealment occur during the reporting process, a disciplinary decision is required.
Amendments to the “Elementary and Secondary Education Act” and the “Early Childhood Education Act” are intended to ensure that legitimate guidance by teachers during the course of students' school life is not regarded as a violation of Prohibited Acts under subparagraph 3 to 6 of Article 17 (Prohibited Acts) of the “Child Welfare Act.” The purpose is to prevent indiscriminate reporting of and accusations against teachers in cases of suspected child abuse during teachers’ provision of legitimate guidance.
The provisions include acts such as: ▲ committing physical abuse against a child that may harm his/her body, physical health, and development; ▲ committing emotional abuse against a child that may harm his/her mental health and development; and ▲ abandoning a child under one’s protection and supervision, or neglecting the basic protection, rearing, medical treatment and education of the child, including the provision of necessary food, clothing and shelter.
The amendment prohibits acts that violate the human rights of school staff and other students by a protector (i.e., a person with parental authority, a guardian, a person who protects, rears, and educates a child) and emphasizes the respect and support for teachers' legitimate guidance, as well as the active cooperation of the protector, in the guidance of students /kindergarteners by schools/kindergartens.
The amendment assigns the responsibility for handling complaints related to educational activities to school principals and kindergarten directors. Schools (kindergartens) and school principals (kindergarten directors) must take necessary measures to protect the personal information of teachers, such as phone numbers and resident registration numbers, in accordance with relevant laws including the "Personal Information Protection Act" and the "Official Information Disclosure Act."
The amendment to the "Framework Act on Education" specifies the obligation of parents and other protectors to cooperate with and respect the legitimate educational and guidance activities provided by schools.
