After a second-year elementary school teacher took her own life, psychiatrists called for a psychological support system for teachers. They pointed out that teachers are "emotional workers" who need attention and care for their mental health.

On Tuesday, a teacher in her 20s was found dead at Seoyi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The teacher in charge of a first-grade class was hired only last year but “made an extreme choice,” a euphemism among Korean journalists for suicide. Education authorities are investigating the circumstances.

"We are surprised and saddened by the incident of the young teacher who passed away and expressed our deepest condolences," the Korean Association of Psychiatrists (KAP) said in a statement on Friday. "In recent years, teachers have been burdened with emotional labor that goes beyond their normal duties, such as increasing incidents of physical and mental violence against teachers by parents or students."

Students can receive counseling through on-campus counseling centers, and the system for resolving their grievances, including bullying, has improved over the years. However, teachers' mental health has not received the attention and care it deserves, although it can significantly impact students beyond their health."

The association emphasized that society should pay attention to teachers' mental health and create a system to provide psychological support for teachers in special situations. Korea also should create an institutional mechanism to prevent the victimization of teachers, it added.

"There is an urgent need to create a system where we can discuss grievances and provide psychological support in special situations," the association said. "To ensure a healthy mind, teachers, like workers, should be guaranteed the right to be free from work during off-duty hours by separating work and rest.”

Over the years, the school culture has changed drastically, and teachers have become victims in some situations. Still, it added that society has failed to work out institutional mechanisms for this.

"If we continue to emphasize only the human rights of students while neglecting the rights and obligations of teachers, it will lead to the collapse of education itself,” it said. "We will do our best to create an educational environment where students and teachers can grow together and protect everyone's mental health."