Drunk driving, sexual misconduct top disciplinary cases against teachers in Korea
Nearly one-third of 4,201 disciplinary actions against teachers in Korea from 2022 through August 2026 involved drunk driving or sexual misconduct, data shows.
Police officers guide students on their way home from school outside an elementary school in eastern Seoul on May 12.
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Drunk driving and sexual misconduct accounted for nearly one-third of more than 4,000 disciplinary actions against teachers in Korea since 2022. More than one in eight disciplinary actions involved sexual misconduct.
Drunk driving accounted for 813 cases, or 19.4 percent, of the 4,201 disciplinary actions against kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school teachers between 2022 and August this year, according to data that opposition People Power Party Rep. Lee In-seon, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, received from the country’s 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices and released Tuesday.
Sexual misconduct ranked second with 565 cases, or 13.4 percent. Combined with drunk driving, the two categories made up 1,378 cases, nearly one-third of the total.
Work-related misconduct, including workplace harassment, abuse of authority and improper receipt of allowances, ranked third with 410 cases, or 9.8 percent. Child abuse and corporal punishment accounted for 391 cases, or 9.3 percent, followed by financial crimes such as fraud and embezzlement with 356 cases, or 8.5 percent.
Physical violence and threats accounted for 187 disciplinary cases, or 4.5 percent, while stalking was cited in 29 cases, or 0.7 percent. Another 25 cases, or 0.6 percent, involved offenses such as murder, gambling and drug crimes.
The total number of disciplinary actions fell steadily from 934 in 2022 to 920 in 2023, 887 in 2024 and 865 in 2025. Yet chronic problems — namely, drunk driving and sexual misconduct — showed little sign of abating.
Drunk driving resulted in at least 160 disciplinary actions each year — 182 cases in 2022, 200 in 2023, 177 in 2024 and 167 in 2025. Sexual misconduct also resulted in at least 110 disciplinary actions each year.
“It is deeply troubling that one in three disciplinary actions against teachers, whose job is to educate children and instill moral values, involves drunk driving or sexual misconduct,” Rep. Lee said. “Serious misconduct must be dealt with sternly under a zero-tolerance principle so that students and parents can feel secure in public education.”
BY YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
