Another teacher dies in suicide over malicious complaints from parents

Another elementary school teacher has died in an apparent suicide after reportedly suffering from malicious complaints from parents, police in the central city of Daejeon said Friday, the latest in a recent string of such deaths nationwide over difficulties in dealing with students and parents.

The teacher, known only as a woman in her 40s, died at a Daejeon hospital Thursday after being found wounded after an apparent suicide attempt at her home two days earlier, police said.

Her bereaved family said the teacher had a difficult time due to malicious complaints over child abuse and other matters, and received psychiatric treatment for a long period of time, according to a local teachers’ union.

The teacher also had a hard time recently after hearing about the suicide of an elementary school teacher in southern Seoul and remembering what happened to her in the past, the union said, adding she reportedly suffered from malicious complaints from some parents in 2019. At that time, she was involved in a child abuse case but was acquitted of the charge in 2020.

Following the recent deaths of several teachers, the government has been seeking to come up with various measures to enhance teachers’ rights and authority in the classroom.