S. Korean teacher died ‘in line of duty’ after parent dispute, review committee decides
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Mr Hyun, in his 40s, died by suicide on May 22 in a storage unit on the campus of a middle school in Jeju.
PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL – A middle school teacher in Jeju, surnamed Hyun, who died in May 2025 after experiencing conflict with a student’s family was officially recognised on Jan 26 as having died in the course of carrying out his duties.
According to teacher groups, a review committee convened at the Teachers’ Pension on Jan 26 ruled that Mr Hyun’s death constituted a workplace death.
The Teachers’ Pension is a public institution under the Education Ministry that manages pension funds for private school teachers.
“The recognition of Hyun’s death as a workplace death sends a strong warning about the failures of the complaint-handling system and the complacency of the education office that allowed them to persist,” the Good Teachers’ Movement said in a statement.
“Given that the teacher lost his life due to the school’s failure to properly respond to complaints, recognising his death as occurring in the line of duty was a necessary step.”
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If public officials, including teachers, are acknowledged as having died while carrying out their responsibilities, their bereaved families become eligible to receive state pensions and compensation.
“Beyond acknowledging the teacher’s death as being in the line of duty, a thorough audit must be conducted into the numerous problems within the Jeju Education Office revealed during the investigation,” the group added.
Mr Hyun, in his 40s, died by suicide on May 22 in a storage unit on the campus of a middle school in Jeju. A will discovered in the school’s office stated that he had suffered from ongoing disputes with a student’s family.
Mr Hyun’s family said the teacher had endured extreme stress due to repeated complaints from a student’s family, to the point that he was unable to eat.
A fact-finding team under the Jeju Provincial Education Office determined in October that the student’s family had infringed on educational activities.
It concluded that the school’s complaint response system failed to function properly, noting that the response team did not take full responsibility for handling the case, leaving the teacher unprotected.
Police launched an investigation but closed the case after finding no grounds for criminal charges.
Police acknowledged that the student’s family’s complaints caused the teacher severe stress driven by a sense of unfairness and anger, but said the complaints did not constitute a criminal offence. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
