Teachers stage a protest in central Seoul on July 29, 2023, calling for the normalization of public education. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Tens of thousands of teachers staged a large-scale protest in downtown Seoul on Saturday, calling for the normalization of the public education, after a colleague took her own life at an elementary school last week.
Police estimated that around 21,000 activists took part in the event, while organizers asserted that the number of attendees reached as high as 30,000.
The protest came after a teacher, known only as a 23-year-old woman in charge of first graders at an elementary school in southern Seoul, apparently took her own life on the premises last week.
Several allegations surrounding her death have surfaced, including claims that she was under immense stress due to parents’ complaints about school violence. However, the school has denied the allegations.
The participants wore black attire to express condolences for the teacher, while urging authorities to come up with measures to safeguard teachers’ rights and promote the normalization of public education.
Earlier this week, the government and the ruling People Power Party agreed to move forward with a set of legal revisions aimed at protecting teachers’ rights and enhancing their authority in classrooms.
The decision comes in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s instruction to devise comprehensive guidelines to address the erosion of teachers’ rights.
(Yonhap)
