S.Korea to amend law to place teachers with mental disorders on compulsory leave

Seoul, Feb 12 (IANS) The South Korean government on Wednesday said it seeks to amend a law to place teachers with mental disorders on compulsory leave, following a fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old student by a school teacher that shocked the nation this week.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announced the plan during a meeting of top education officials in Seoul, after a female teacher in her 40s fatally stabbed a student at an elementary school in the central city of Daejeon on Monday, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We will amend the law so that necessary measures can be taken, such as compulsory leave, for school teachers who have difficulty carrying out their duties due to mental disorders," Lee said, noting the amendment would be tentatively named the "Ha-neul Act" after the late student.

Lee said authorities would come up with fundamental measures to ensure that such a tragic incident does not ever happen again.

Ruling and opposition political parties have also called for the introduction of a law for preventative measures in light of the incident, with the People Power Party planning to hold talks with the government for such measures.

Police have said the suspect, surnamed Myeong, was found to have received treatment for depression since 2018 and thought of killing herself while on a sick leave that began last December before she returned to work early from her leave.

Myeong reportedly assaulted a colleague days before the stabbing murder, but education authorities were found to have not taken any meaningful response measures at the time.

Meanwhile, another school teacher has been charged with the murder of a toddler son and attempted patricide in South Korea.

The 30-something middle school teacher based in North Gyeongsang Province has been charged with murdering her 3-year-old son, months after she attempted to kill her father but failed, Yonhap reported citing sources.

The teacher, whose identity is being withheld, is charged with murdering her son and the attempted murder of her father. The trial is set to begin in March at the Gimcheon branch of the Daegu District Court, according to police sources and education authorities.