At his own expense, a teacher died in a pond during training in Australia…

A middle school teacher who left for self-study in Australia last year died in a drowning accident. The bereaved families asked the Ministry of Personnel Innovation to “pay the survivors’ benefits for the dead,” but when they were not accepted, they filed a lawsuit in the court.

The 7th administrative division of the Seoul Administrative Court (President Kook-Hyeon Kim) announced on the 3rd that it had raised the hand of the bereaved, saying, “Please cancel the rejection of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation.”

Mr. A participated in a geological exploration teacher’s autonomous training held in Australia in January 2019. This training, attended by 15 teachers, was hosted by the Earth Science Education Research Group registered with the Office of Education.

The accident took place in an unexpected place. While exploring the terrain of Karijini National Park in western Australia, it was at the last site, the fern pool. Some of the teachers in the training team entered the pond, and Mr. A stopped drowning and was rescued, but died.

Since then, there are two main reasons why the Ministry of HR Innovation rejected the survivor’s benefit that Mr. A’s survivor applied for. First, he pointed out that it is difficult to view the training that Mr. A participated in as’public service performance’. The training was not forced by anyone, but the training that teachers left at their own expense. It was also heard as evidence that the head of the institution was not involved in the contents or results of the training.

However, the court did not accept this claim from the HR Innovation Office. The court first considered the purpose and content of the training. The training could be viewed as an activity to cultivate the job performance or ability of Mr. A, a science teacher. Mr. A previously worked as a supervisor for the school’s science club, and led students to experience geological exploration. There was also a specialized learning community in the celestial and geological areas.

There was no problem with the process of participating in the training. I submitted a training plan to the school principal and participated in the training with approval. After visiting, the training team leader also prepared and submitted a report. It was the training that teachers left at their own expense, but the court judges that there is ample room for public service under the control or management of the affiliated institution. The training was also hosted by an educational research group registered with the Office of Education.

In addition, the National Public Officials Act stipulates that each teacher must conduct self-development learning, and that the head of an institution is responsible for improving the competence and expertise of teachers. The fact that teachers accumulate performance through training for professional development also goes into the factor of job performance evaluation. The court made it clear that, “Even if there is a circumstance that there was no compulsory participation or that the participants were responsible for the training costs, the training in this case should be viewed as a public service.”

Why did Mr. A enter the pond? The HR Innovation Office said, “It is difficult to admit the causal relationship between Mr. A’s death and public affairs.” Did Mr. A really fall into the water while swimming regardless of official duties?

The court explained this in detail in the judgment. The court said, “It is difficult to say that A entered the pond is contrary to the purpose of the training or not related to the training contents.” It is intended that Mr. A can fully admit that he died in the process of performing official duties.

The pond where the accident occurred (Fern Pool) was the last course of training in Karijini National Park. There was a waterfall on one side of the pond, but the training team, who was collecting geological data, decided to observe the bottom of the waterfall. Among the teachers, a person who can swim was chosen as a representative and decided to swim to the bottom of the waterfall to observe. Three teachers, including Mr. A, went into the water, and the rest of the teachers were waiting around. At that time, the pond was a place where access was free, and there was a wooden structure around the pond for convenient swimming. Two guides were also accompanied, and there were no restrictions or danger notices.

Before his death in an accident, Mr. A collected minerals from the explored area and separated them by date and place of visit. They also took pictures of the terrain and celestial bodies. These were materials to be used as material for future classes. The court, which summed up these points, ruled to cancel the disposition of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation, saying, “It can be said that Mr. A died while performing official duties.

Reporter Lee Sujeong [email protected]