Ahn Min-seok's 'Teacher Rights Protection Officers' Begin Full Operations... Final 300 Selectees Announced
[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-seong] The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced the final selection results for the Teacher Rights Protection Officers on the 10th. With this, the full operation of Ahn Min-seok's 'Teacher Rights Protection Officers' is set to begin.
On the same day, Superintendent Ahn Min-seok visited the Bucheon Ojeong Police Station and personally submitted a criminal complaint regarding serious violations of educational activities committed by a parent.
The final selectees for the Teacher Rights Protection Officers this time total 300, including 110 teachers, 30 Gyeonggi residents, and 160 experts.
In particular, the expert group secured a diverse range of professionals, including lawyers, doctors, police officers, conflict mediation specialists, counselors, a former Human Rights Commission investigator, and an international behavior analysis specialist.
The open recruitment, which began on July 15, drew 1,823 applicants for 50 positions (based on the initial announcement), recording an average competition rate of 36 to 1, reflecting strong interest across Gyeonggi Province.
Accordingly, the Provincial Office of Education prioritized fairness and expertise, and after several days of document screening, selected 512 candidates for the interview stage.
The interviews, conducted over three days, were carried out in a group discussion format to thoroughly verify candidates' capabilities as Teacher Rights Protection Officers, comprehensively evaluating their understanding of teacher rights protection, problem-solving and conflict mediation skills, and collaboration and communication abilities.
Considering the higher-than-expected number of applicants and the high level of expertise confirmed through document and interview screening, the Provincial Office of Education, after careful deliberation, decided to expand the final number of selectees from the original 50 to 300.
The 300 selectees were assigned by dividing them—based on the ratio of the number of schools and teachers in each region—into the Gyeonggi Eastern Region (58), Gyeonggi Western Region (83), Gyeonggi Southern Region (96), and Gyeonggi Northern Region (63).
Meanwhile, the Teacher Rights Protection Officers provide dedicated one-on-one support, from the early stages of an incident through its resolution, to teachers facing difficulties such as child abuse reports, serious violations of educational activities, and malicious complaints.
The Provincial Office of Education plans to conduct capacity-building training for the selected Teacher Rights Protection Officers on August 13 and 18, and to begin full-scale operations after holding an inauguration ceremony on the 22nd.
In addition, the Provincial Office of Education announced that it plans to appoint all approximately 1,400 willing applicants as 'Citizen Teacher Rights Protectors,' so that the expertise and experience of those who applied for this recruitment can contribute to teacher rights protection activities and the development of education in Gyeonggi.
On this day, following the announcement of the final selection of the Teacher Rights Protection Officers, Superintendent Ahn Min-seok personally visited the Bucheon Ojeong Police Station and submitted a criminal complaint in the superintendent's name regarding violations of educational activities.
This criminal complaint demonstrates Superintendent Ahn's strong resolve to hold those responsible for violating educational activities fully accountable in accordance with law and principle, and to create schools where teachers can devote themselves to educational activities with peace of mind.
In particular, the superintendent's personal visit to the police station to submit a criminal complaint carries the meaning of publicly declaring, both internally and externally, that violations of educational activities are no longer a matter for individual teachers to bear alone, but one that the Office of Education will take responsibility for and respond to together.
Superintendent Ahn Min-seok said, "The high competition rate of 36 to 1 for the Teacher Rights Protection Officer positions is the result of residents uniting their aspirations to restore fallen teacher rights together," adding, "Only when teachers are respected can students learn properly, and only when parents trust schools can the educational community stand firm."
The Provincial Office of Education plans to continue strengthening an integrated support system encompassing prevention, response, and recovery, centered on the Teacher Rights Protection Officers, to build an education in Gyeonggi where teachers can focus on education with peace of mind and students can devote themselves to learning.