"Maggots Make Criminals"... Teachers' Groups Push Back Over President Lee's Criticism of Avoiding Field Trips

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[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung drew strong backlash from teachers' groups after saying that schools should not eliminate field trips and other off-campus experiential learning activities out of safety concerns, comparing it to throwing away a jar just because maggots might appear.
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) issued a statement on the 28th, saying, "We are deeply concerned that the president, the National Assembly and education authorities are misreading the core of the problem behind the decline in field-based experiential learning." It added, "He said we should not throw away the jar just because maggots might appear, but those maggots now mean a brutal reality for teachers: not only are they stripped of their positions, they are also turned into criminals."
The KTU pointed out that when teachers take dozens of students to field learning sites where control is difficult, they end up bearing full responsibility for any accident. It said that although legal safeguards exist, they are "like armor made of paper." It cited the six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, handed down last year to a homeroom teacher who supervised a field trip in Sokcho, as well as the eight-month prison sentence in the first trial over an accident at a kindergarten in South Jeolla Province.
In 2022, the court applied charges of occupational negligence resulting in death to a supervising teacher in connection with an accident during a field trip in Sokcho, where a sixth-grade elementary school student was struck and killed by a vehicle in a parking lot. In January this year, the court also found supervising teachers guilty of occupational negligence resulting in death in a 2023 accident in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, where a student in special education drowned in the sea near a nearby pier during an experiential learning activity, and handed down suspended prison terms.
The KTU said, "The government and education authorities must properly confront the pain and tears of teachers hidden behind accusations that they are unwilling to take responsibility." It added, "Unless the current system, which imposes harsh criminal liability on individual teachers for accidents that occur during educational activities, is changed, this problem cannot be solved."
It also stressed, "This issue can only be properly resolved if teachers are not charged with occupational negligence resulting in death or injury for accidents that occur during educational activities." It added, "Field trips that rely solely on teachers' goodwill and sacrifice can no longer continue."
The Gyeonggi Teachers' Union also issued a statement the same day, saying, "The fundamental reason field trips have come to a halt is the unlimited-liability structure, under which teachers themselves must bear all criminal punishment and civil compensation if an accident occurs." It criticized the president's remarks as "a clear insult to teachers on the ground," saying he blamed teachers without establishing a legal safety net to protect students and teachers.
Earlier in the day, at the 18th State Council of South Korea meeting and the 6th Emergency Economic Review Meeting, President Lee asked Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin, "These days, schools are not really going on field trips or even school excursions. Aren't field trips and school excursions part of class?"
After Choi replied, "That's right," Lee said, "You cannot throw away the jar just because you are worried about maggots." He added, "If there is a safety problem, the government can provide funding and reinforce safety personnel. Isn't it wrong to deprive students of good opportunities just to avoid responsibility?"
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter