Gangwon education office bolsters teacher protection unit, to appoint 100 field support officers

The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education announced Tuesday that it will strengthen the field support system of its superintendent-level Teacher Rights Protection Support Unit and appoint approximately 100 "companion support officers" to respond more swiftly and proactively to violations of educational activities.

Superintendent Kang Sam-young said the Teacher Rights Protection Support Unit serves as "a safety net that equips the provincial education office with a crisis response system so that teachers struggling with rights violations and various complaints at school do not have to face those challenges alone." He also urged "wide interest and applications" for the companion support officer recruitment drive, which is part of what he called the "Gangwon-style educational activity protection model."

The Teacher Rights Protection Support Unit was the first initiative Kang approved after taking office. It operates as a rapid-response field team composed of curriculum supervisors, education officers, lawyers, counselors and conflict mediators, tasked with protecting teachers' legitimate educational activities and right to teach. The unit currently runs as two teams under the provincial education office.

From July through October, the unit received a total of 170 requests for support related to educational activity protection and complaints — 48 handled directly by the unit, 48 legal consultations by dedicated education lawyers, and 74 counseling sessions.

The main cases involved teachers reporting harm stemming from physical injury, assault, threats, defamation, insults, undue interference, and persistent or repeated complaints.

The unit visited schools directly to interview affected teachers and school administrators and discuss response measures. Depending on the case, it provided legal advice, referrals to counseling agencies, treatment cost support and interviews with those accused of misconduct.

The provincial education office said it plans to operate approximately 100 companion support officers to better reflect frontline teachers' needs in its teacher rights protection policy and deliver more professional and substantive protections for educational activities.

The companion support officers will visit schools and teachers affected by rights violations, mediate conflicts and help injured teachers recover. The office plans to recruit specialists in education, law, counseling, administration and medicine with expertise in dispute resolution and teacher rights protection, and deploy them across three regional zones covering Chuncheon, Wonju and Gangneung.

Details on the recruitment process are set to be announced Monday, with appointments running for two years from Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2028.