Exclusive: Teacher Loses Her Unborn Child After Harassment by Parent

[Anchor]

A case of teacher rights infringement, more severe than what is seen in dramas, has occurred in an actual school setting. A physical education teacher was subjected to verbal abuse by a parent and faced police investigation on charges of child abuse simply for having students exercise on the school playground. Ultimately, the teacher even lost her unborn child.

Jeong Banseok reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

Last June at a middle school in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.

Physical education teacher A finished her first-period class with first-grade students by having them perform squats.

Three days later, she received a phone call from a student's grandmother.

[Student's Grandmother: You made our OO stand on the school playground in this sweltering heat... Our child has a 'So-yangin' body type and doesn't drink water well.]

Teacher A explained that she had never made the child stand separately, but the protests continued.

[Student's Grandmother: We spent more money than the price of two apartments on this child, sending him to native English speakers and golf lessons. This is not a child that a teacher can treat just any way they please.]

Two days later, the parents visited the school in person.

[Student's Father: My mother said the teacher was rude, and she really was. I heard you told my mother, 'I was also raised preciously.' Is that true? Answer with 'Yes' or 'No'...]

[School Official: Please do not question her as if you are interrogating her, sir.]

The parents filed a child abuse complaint against Teacher A, claiming that she had pulled their son's ears and that forcing him to do the so-called "invisible chair" exercise, similar to squats, constituted cruel treatment.

[Teacher A/Middle School PE Teacher: I suffered from severe insomnia and extreme anxiety, and I was in deep psychological shock. As a newlywed, I was waiting for a child, but I ended up having a miscarriage, and I think I collapsed completely at that time.]

The investigation concluded that there was no criminal charge.

However, the parent's complaints continued, and entries in Teacher A's diary such as "I am constantly breaking down" and "I want to give up on everything" grew in number.

[Teacher A/Middle School PE Teacher: I even attempted to take my own life, but my husband was there to stop me, so I barely held on. I decided to turn the feelings that led me to that point into a public issue, hoping that no other teachers would suffer like this besides me...]

Teacher A reported the incident to the Office of Education's Teacher Rights Protection Committee.

The committee determined that the parent had infringed upon educational activities and ordered them to undergo special education, but nothing changed.

The parent education was not mandatory and fell through, and the parent instead filed additional complaints against Teacher A for false accusation, insult, and defamation.

The parent's side stated that while they respect the decisions of the investigative agencies and the court, it is difficult to provide a response regarding the additional lawsuits as legal proceedings are currently underway.

[Kim Ji-sung/Head of the Gyeongnam Branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union: If we do not stop this immediately, schools will truly become spaces where it is difficult, or even impossible, to teach.]

Caught in a cycle of never-ending lawsuits, the nightmare that the teacher must endure remains ongoing, even now, a year later.

(Video reporting: Kim Se-kyung | Video editing: Lee Sang-min | Design: Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.