[2026 National Assembly Audit] “Relationship Restoration Deliberation Program” for School Violence: Application Rate 76% in Incheon, 2.5% in Gwangju

Wide disparities in program implementation; nationwide application rate at 21%... experts make up 36.6%

The application rate for the Relationship Restoration Deliberation Program, which began operating nationwide this year to resolve school violence cases through educational means, varied widely among provincial and metropolitan education offices. The rate was 76.2% in Incheon, compared with just 2.5% in Gwangju. The nationwide application rate was 21.0%, and reconciliation and dispute mediation experts accounted for only 36.6% of program staff, highlighting the need to expand the program and recruit more specialists.

The Asia Business Daily DB

An analysis of data from provincial and metropolitan education offices, submitted by the Ministry of Education to the Good Teachers Movement and the office of Rep. Kang Kyungsook of the Rebuilding Korea Party on October 28, found that as of August 31 this year, 2,952 of the 14,045 reported school violence cases had applied for the Relationship Restoration Deliberation Program, an application rate of 21.0%. Of those applications, 2,560 cases were resolved independently by school principals, for a resolution rate of 86.7%.

Incheon had the highest application rate among the provinces and metropolitan areas, at 76.2%. Ulsan (57.9%), Jeju (54.5%) and South Jeolla Province (53.2%) also exceeded 50%. By contrast, four areas remained in single digits: Gwangju (2.5%), South Gyeongsang Province (6.8%), Busan (7.4%) and Gangwon Province (9.8%).

The Relationship Restoration Deliberation Program provides relationship-restoration programs before a school violence case is reviewed, prioritizing an educational resolution and deferring deliberation by the dedicated committee until the program ends. A plan to introduce the program was included in the Fifth Basic Plan for the Prevention of and Response to School Violence last year. Following a pilot program, the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education became the last to join in September this year, bringing the program to all 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices nationwide.

The eligible cases and conditions also varied by education office. Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province allow the program to be used for all school violence cases, while the other 15 areas limit eligibility to minor cases. Gyeonggi Province, North Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province operate the program across all school levels: elementary, middle and high school.

Incheon, which had the highest application rate, first runs the “Didimdol Program,” in which conflict-mediation experts interview students individually. The approach is to explain the purpose and procedures of conflict mediation to help students and their guardians understand the process, then propose that they take part in a relationship-restoration program. The Good Teachers Movement and Rep. Kang’s office said preliminary interviews should be expanded and procedures improved to allow education offices and their contracted organizations to propose participation as well.

Resolution rates among applications exceeded 90% in six areas, including Gyeonggi Province (95.3%), North Gyeongsang Province (95.1%), South Jeolla Province (94.0%) and North Jeolla Province (91.3%). By contrast, the rates were 44.0% in North Chungcheong Province, 50.0% in Daegu and 66.2% in Incheon. Although Incheon had the highest application rate, its resolution rate was below the nationwide average, indicating a need to strengthen preparation and support for the conflict-mediation process after an application is filed.

The shortage of specialists was also identified as a challenge. Of the 3,051 program staff nationwide, 1,118 (36.6%) were experts in reconciliation and dispute mediation. Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province had no such experts, while they accounted for just 0.6% of staff in North Gyeongsang Province and 1.26% in Daegu.

The Good Teachers Movement and Rep. Kang’s office proposed a phased expansion plan to narrow regional disparities, standards for vetting external specialist organizations, and an increase in the number of specialists. They also stressed the need to strengthen outreach and training for students, parents and teachers to improve understanding and acceptance of the program, and to build conflict-mediation capabilities within schools and education offices.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.