School classroom [Provided by Yonhap News TV]

It has been found that 1 in 5 teachers has experienced complaints or protests alleging a violation of political neutrality, even when they were conducting normal educational activities.

Even in cases where teachers explained the May 18 Democratization Movement according to textbooks or conducted history lessons, complaints regarding the "indoctrination of leftist ideology" were raised.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) held a press conference at its conference room in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 9th and announced the results of its 'Survey on the Infringement of Teachers' Educational Rights and Political-Related Complaints.'

In a survey conducted by the teachers' union targeting teachers nationwide from November 3 to 9 last year, 391 respondents (20.2%) out of 1,937 said they had "experienced protests or complaints alleging a violation of political neutrality regarding normal educational activities."

It was found that 169 cases (8.7%) involved "receiving threats of being reported or sued," and 39 cases (2.0%) involved "actual experience with legal procedures such as reports or lawsuits."

In subjective responses, cases related to history education were the most frequent.

For example, in a 5th-grade elementary school social studies class that covered the Japanese colonial period, the March 1st Movement, and patriot Yu Gwan-sun, a teacher received a complaint stating that "the teacher and the school curriculum are biased toward the left."

Furthermore, even when the May 18 Democratization Movement was explained according to the content of textbooks, it was reported that protests accusing teachers of "indoctrinating leftist ideology" or being "communist" were raised.

There were also responses indicating that educational activities utilizing materials based on historical events, such as the films '12.12: The Day' and 'A Taxi Driver', led to complaints.

The scope of complaints also included modern political systems and civic education.

One teacher was reportedly protested against for "not conducting such classes" after guiding students to bring election leaflets from home to use during a 6th-grade elementary school social studies class.

The teachers' union stated that in-depth interviews conducted by the KTU Policy Research Institute with 10 education stakeholders, including teachers, students, and parents, from April 8 to May 11 this year, confirmed that the prerequisite for school civic education is the guarantee of teachers' educational rights.

At the press conference, the teachers' union also announced survey results showing that many citizens wish for the strengthening of school civic education.

In a survey conducted by Macromill Embrain at the request of the KTU Policy Research Institute from April 17 to 22, targeting 5,000 citizens (aged 16 to under 70), 66.0% of respondents stated that the current level of civic education in schools is insufficient.

Only 18.9% responded that school civic education is sufficient.

Respondents were generally found to have a positive view of democratic citizenship education within schools.

83.7% of respondents stated they agree with civic education in schools, and 82.4% answered that education on real-world political issues and social problems is necessary for students.

When asked, 'Where should students mainly learn about real-world political issues and social problems?', 66.4% chose schools, followed by family (14.6%), TV (6.3%), and online platforms (YouTube, social media, etc.) at 5.6%.

 [Provided by the teachers' union]

While respondents agreed on the necessity of civic education, there were also significant concerns regarding the potential for political bias among teachers.

Regarding concerns surrounding lessons on real-world political issues and social problems, 63.6% of respondents cited the "indoctrination of distorted perspectives due to the teacher's political bias."

This was followed by "concerns over conflicts and confusion within schools due to politically sensitive topics" at 16.2%.

The KTU Policy Research Institute pointed out, "Although social demand for school civic education has formed, educational activities are shrinking due to complaints about political bias, ambiguous interpretations of political neutrality, and the absence of protective measures for teachers," adding, "An environment must be established where teachers can provide civic education."