South Korea proposes Education Activity Protection Agency to oversee school issues

The Democratic Party's research institute, the Democratic Research Institute, released a policy briefing recommending the creation of an Education Activity Protection Agency under the Ministry of Education. Inspired by the fictional "Teacher Protection Agency" in the Netflix drama ‘참교육’, the proposal calls for a national control tower that would integrate handling of teacher harassment, malicious complaints, child‑abuse reports, school violence and other disruptions to public education. It suggests a hierarchy of a central agency, regional support centres and local field teams, with functions such as an integrated classification system, institutional responsibility for malicious complaints, child‑abuse response support and school‑community recovery.

Gyeonggi‑do education superintendent candidate Ahn Minseok also weighed in, proposing a public debate on establishing a similar "Teacher Protection Agency" in the province. He emphasized the urgency of restoring trust in school communities, protecting teachers and ensuring safe learning environments, and called on the Ministry of Education to decide on the proposal.

Both initiatives aim to shift responsibility for education‑related incidents from individual schools to a coordinated state‑level response.