The Ministry of Education and 17 city and provincial education offices, together with the School Violence Prevention Education Support Center of the Korea Youth Policy Institute (Director Baek Il-hyun), held an online inauguration ceremony for the '2026 School Violence Prevention Harmony Student Supporters Corps' on May 20 and began promoting student-led school violence prevention activities in earnest.

This inauguration ceremony was organized to share the roles and purposes of the 'Eoullim Student Supporters Group' and to reinforce students' voluntary participation and commitment to action. Through exemplary operational cases from the past, the ceremony will facilitate an understanding of the activities and methods, and the Supporters Group's oath will be read aloud together.

The 'Eoullim Student Supporters Corps' is a peer group based on student councils and regular/autonomous clubs, where students develop capabilities for preventing school violence through independent activities and create a school culture of respect and consideration. It has been selected and operated through open calls by each provincial and metropolitan office of education since 2021, and this year, a total of 80 teams (1,496 members) were selected from 17 provincial and metropolitan offices of education. Reflecting school characteristics and students' interests, the Student Supporters Corps operates in three types: project/inquiry type, culture/art/performance type, and publicity/campaign type.

The Ministry of Education plans to continue providing various forms of support to ensure the stable establishment of student supporter groups in schools. It will identify and share best practices through joint workshops and performance reporting sessions, and support the nationwide dissemination of excellent preventive activities by building networks among students and supervising teachers.

Incheon Dorim High School (Principal Jo Seong-bin) has made efforts to create a student-led, violence-free school culture, such as establishing school culture responsibility regulations centered on the student support group, and as a result, no school violence has occurred since the second semester of last year.

Gong Seon-jae, the student representative of the Incheon Dorim High School Student Supporters Group, stated, “When I first entered the school, I heard that my friends felt anxious about school violence, so I thought that all students must solve it together.” He added, “In particular, while engaging in activities such as street performances (busking) and creating card news for school violence prevention, I had many conversations with my friends and realized that empathy and participation are necessary for prevention.” He further shared his thoughts, saying, “I believe that school violence is not ‘someone else’s problem’ but ‘our collective problem,’ and I want to continue taking the lead in creating a warm school culture.”

Sim Min-cheol, Director General of the Student Health and Safety Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Education, stated, “Students’ voluntary participation and practice are one of the important elements in preventing school violence. I look forward to the Eoullim Student Supporters playing a central role in creating a culture of mutual respect and consideration in schools.” He added, “The Ministry of Education will actively support the stable establishment of school violence prevention activities in which students take the lead.”

[News Source: Ministry of Education]

[Korea English Press]