Home > National > Social Affairs

Nearly half of teachers in Korea report being physically assaulted by students, survey finds

Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 10:40

Members of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) call for better protections for educators at a press conference held outside the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 15. [NEWS1]

The Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) called for better protections in schools on Wednesday after a survey revealed that nearly half of teachers in Korea report being physically assaulted by students.

The KFTA held a news conference outside the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, following reports of an attack on a high school teacher by a student in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Monday. The suspect is said to have requested a one-on-one meeting with the teacher before allegedly stabbing him multiple times.

The findings of the survey have fueled concerns over school safety and the erosion of teachers’ authority in the classroom. In the survey of 3,551 teachers and education specialists at kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools nationwide, 86 percent said they had experienced violations of their rights and personal safety.

The most common form of abuse cited by 93 percent of respondents was deliberate disruptions of lessons and refusals by students to follow instructions.

Other cited infractions included verbal abuse, such as personal insults and profanity at 87.5 percent, threatening behavior — including glaring, spitting and intimidation at 80.6 percent — and sex-related misconduct such as sexual questions or inappropriate physical contact at 47.5 percent.

The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) members speak at a press conference on April 15 held outside the National Assembly in western Seoul and shared the association's survey results. [NEWS1]

Another 48.6 percent said they had either been assaulted or injured by a student themselves or had seen a colleague harmed. Repeat offenses were also common, according to respondents. While 21.7 percent said they had experienced abuse one to three times, 26.9 percent said they had suffered abuse four or more times.

Despite the scale of the problem, only 13.9 percent said they had reported incidents to a regional teacher rights protection committee.

The most common reason for not filing a report was the belief that it would not lead to meaningful help or an effective solution, cited by 26.9 percent of respondents. That was followed by concerns over legal disputes, including child abuse complaints or lawsuits from parents, at 23.8 percent and fears of retaliatory complaints from parents at 16.3 percent.

“The fear of retaliatory malicious complaints from parents or false child abuse allegations is keeping teachers silent,” said Kang Joo-ho, president of the KFTA.

The group urged the government and the National Assembly to adopt five remedial measures, such as including violations of teachers' rights in offending students' permanent records; making the state, and not the teacher, the responsible party for lawsuits tied to educational activities; clarifying the standard for emotional abuse through law revisions; ensuring cases confirmed to have taken place during legitimate educational motifs are not referred to prosecutors; and requiring superintendents to file countersuits over false accusations and malicious complaints.

“How long will this absurd reality be left in place, where teachers can end up in court accused of emotional abuse even while carrying out legitimate student instruction?” Kang said.

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.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]