Ulsan launches campaign to rebuild trust within school communities

A movement to rebuild trust among the four pillars of Ulsan's educational community — students, parents, school staff and local society — is gaining fresh momentum across the city.

Superintendent of Education Jo Yong-sik launched the "Ulsan Educational Community Building Movement," which calls on all four groups to trust and respect one another, on his first day in office on July 1, starting at Sinjeong Elementary School. He has since consistently greeted students at morning arrivals at schools including Ulsan Seo Girls' Middle School, Yaksa Gaon Kindergarten, Ulsan Hyein School and Beomseo High School — spanning elementary, middle and high schools, kindergartens and special schools. Jo plans to continue the outreach through the end of the year.

According to the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, the number of violations against educational activities has declined over the past three years — 124 cases in 2023, 115 in 2024 and 99 in 2025 — but remains high.

In September last year, the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education filed a criminal complaint against a parent, identified only as A, for obstructing school operations — the first such complaint filed under a superintendent's name — on charges of intimidation and obstruction of official duties through deception.

A had repeatedly and unreasonably demanded that the homeroom teacher allow her child to use a mobile phone at school. The regional teacher rights protection committee under the office's Educational Activity Protection Center ruled the conduct constituted "repeated undue interference with legitimate educational activities." A then continued to threaten the teacher, sending a certified letter warning of a child abuse report and legal action, which ultimately led to the criminal complaint.

Such violations of teacher rights have taken a serious toll on educator morale. A separate analysis by the Ulsan Teachers' Union of 367 Ulsan-based teachers who responded to a Teachers' Day survey — conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Unions from April 20 to May 10 among kindergarten, elementary, middle and special education teachers nationwide — found that 63.5 percent had considered resigning or changing jobs in the past year. Some 66.5 percent said they felt anxious about the possibility of being reported for child abuse.

School violence, including bullying, has also surged. Figures compiled by the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education on victimization rates by school level between 2021 and 2025 show sharp increases across the board: at elementary schools, from 2.3 percent to 5.2 percent; at middle schools, from 0.4 percent to 1.9 percent; and at high schools, from 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent.

In response, Jo approved a "comprehensive plan for restoring educational community trust" as the first official agenda item of his tenure, reflecting his determination to root out violations of teacher rights and school violence stemming from conflicts among the parties that make up a school.

The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education has also drawn up an "Ulsan Educational Community Trust Restoration Plan" built around Jo's four campaign pledges: teacher protection, student lifestyle education, communication with parents, and the launch of a social consensus body for Ulsan education. Alongside this, a 20-member advisory body directly under the superintendent — the Ulsan Educational Community Trust Restoration Task Force, comprising three students, four parents, six teachers and seven community representatives — has been formed to accelerate the trust-building effort.

Kim Gu-han, chair of the transition committee for the Ulsan superintendent's office, said the trust restoration policy, which aims to renew awareness among all four educational stakeholders, "can bring about genuine innovation." He added that the transition committee is "carefully reviewing the implementation plan to ensure the superintendent's campaign pledges for educational community trust restoration are carried out effectively."

Jo said that "violations of teacher rights, school violence, gapjil and malicious complaints — behaviors that cause conflict among educational stakeholders and erode trust — must be eradicated before our educational community can stand on solid ground."