Seoul [South Korea], September 5 : Hundreds of thousands of teachers are demonstrating in South Korea following the suspected suicide of a teacher, which has been widely blamed on the load placed on educators in the country, CNN reported.
Angry teachers claim they are subjected to unreasonable requests and even harassment from angry parents, and they are seeking legislative reform and more protections.
According to CNN, up to 200,000 demonstrators took part in a rally on Saturday. According to organisers, an estimated 50,000 teachers halted work and assembled in the capital on Monday to remember the death of the teacher, despite officials' early warnings that striking would be considered "illegal."
According to an August release from the country's Education Ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who conducted an inquiry into the incident, the teacher had taught first grade homeroom at the Seoi primary school in Seoul and died on campus on July 18. They did not identify the teacher.
Cho Hee-yeon, the head of the metropolitan education office, announced two days after her death that the teacher had taken "the unfortunate decision to take an extreme choice," a typical euphemism in South Korea for suicide, CNN reported.
Cho said police were still investigating, but he recognised "the reality that teachers' legitimate educational activities are not protected," and he advocated "special measures" to give instructors with stronger legal and institutional protections.
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