Gov’t to amend law to place teachers with mental disorders on compulsory leave amid fatal student stabbing death

The government said Wednesday 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 the female teacher in her 40s fatally stabbed the student at an elementary school in the central city of Daejeon on Monday.

“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.