When a child misses a day or two of school, most parents assume there is some grace period before anyone official notices. There is not. On the school's side a defined procedure starts on day one. The homeroom teacher's phone call, and the home visit that follows a few days later, are not personal judgement calls — they are steps written into the unexcused absence management manual issued by the Ministry of Education and the provincial offices of education. Knowing the sequence makes the school's contact legible as procedure rather than surveillance, and makes clear what a parent should do first.

"Unexcused absence" is broader than truancy

In the school record, absences are classified as illness, unexcused, or other. Unexcused absence is a defined category in the Guidelines on Preparing and Managing School Records, and it covers deliberate absence such as idleness, running away or refusal to attend; absence caused by the student's own culpable unlawful conduct; periods of suspension imposed under the School Violence Prevention Act or the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and any other absence for a reason that is not accepted as legitimate.

There is one category parents routinely miss: unrecognised overseas study. If the child is not living abroad with a parent, is not enrolled in that country's mainstream school, or the period of study is under six months even where the grounds would otherwise qualify, it is recorded as unexcused absence. "We sent them abroad for a while" can register very differently in the attendance record.

Days 1–2 — the homeroom teacher speaks to the child directly

From the first day of absence the homeroom teacher confirms the reason, urges attendance, and enters the unexcused absence in the NEIS attendance system. What matters at this stage is the method of confirmation. The manual requires the teacher to verify the child's whereabouts and safety by speaking to the student personally, by phone or video call — not to the guardian.

If the call does not connect, the teacher records why and confirms location by other means, such as a photograph of the student identifying a date and place. Where whereabouts and safety cannot be confirmed, a home visit may be made as early as day one or two, with a social welfare officer from the community service centre accompanying, or police assistance requested. In other words, "nothing happens until three days have passed" is not true. If safety is unconfirmed, the procedure moves up.

The legal basis is the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Article 25 (urging, warning and notification by primary and middle school principals), Article 26 (urging, warning and reporting by the head of the eup, myeon or dong and the superintendent) and Article 92-2 (attendance management for high school students).

Days 3–9 — home visit, summons to school, police assistance

For primary and middle schools, three to nine consecutive days of absence (three to six for high schools) moves the case to the next stage. The order can change with circumstances, but the standard flow is home visit → summons to school → police assistance.

• Home visit — carried out where the student has not returned after telephone urging and whereabouts and safety remain unconfirmed. The homeroom teacher goes, and may request in writing that a social welfare officer from the local community service centre attend, and that police assist.
• Summons to school — if the student still does not attend after the home visit, the guardian is asked to come in for an interview together with the student. Where telephone contact fails, a school letter is delivered to the address in person or sent by certified mail. The school may convene its compulsory education management committee for the interview.
• Police assistance — requested in writing where basic enquiries have been exhausted (telephone contact, immigration checks through the administrative information sharing system, address verification, home visit) and a location investigation or a child abuse investigation is needed. In an emergency, call 112 first and send the written request afterwards.

Where confirmation of whereabouts and safety requires it, the principal may check resident registration address, immigration records and foreign resident registration through the administrative information sharing system under Article 36(1) of the Electronic Government Act (Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Article 28-2). Prior consent is not required for a location enquiry.

Day 10 for primary and middle, day 7 for high school — reporting begins

Once consecutive unexcused absence reaches ten days in primary and middle school, or seven in high school, the homeroom teacher registers the student in NEIS long-term absence management, and the school's designated officer checks and reports to the district office of education. In counting the days, Saturdays, public holidays and discretionary closure days are excluded.

Once reporting starts, management continues. Until the student returns, whereabouts and safety are confirmed once a month with a regular report at the start of each month. When the student returns to class or the record changes, a return report follows within three days.

One more point is worth knowing. Even without consecutive absence, a student with a history of seven or more days of mixed absence types repeating or continuing — off-campus learning, sick leave and so on — is to be observed in person, by home visit or equivalent. Seven days of approved off-campus learning followed by a return and then further absence falls squarely here. The conditions for approval and the report deadline are set out in Missing school for a family trip — what makes off-campus learning count as attendance, and the report deadline.

When a case becomes intensive management

The manual defines a separate category of intensive management cases: where the residence or whereabouts are unclear or contact has been lost so that safety cannot be confirmed, where household circumstances raise concern about safety or abuse, and where the principal judges intensive management necessary. It is mandatory where there is home-based learning, a suicide-risk classification, a history of child abuse, or signs of abuse.

For those cases an individual management card is prepared, confirmations of whereabouts and safety are recorded cumulatively on it, and the case is reported to the district office of education. On handling the earliest signals of school refusal, see When a child says they do not want to go to school — early response, attendance and counselling routes.

Past one third of the school days, the record itself changes

A student absent long-term without legitimate reason for one third or more of that year's school days is moved to out-of-quota record management by decision of the school's compulsory education management committee. The basis is Article 29 (management of records of deferred students) of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Since a primary school year usually runs around 190 school days, one third is roughly sixty-odd days.

Out-of-quota management closes the case in the school's unexcused absence tracking, but it does not mean the child has come back. Deferral, which suspends the compulsory education obligation until the following school year, and exemption, which releases it, both go through the compulsory education management committee under Article 28. Where the child has raised leaving school, a different procedure comes first — see When Your Child Says They Want to Quit School — The Deliberation Period Required Before a Withdrawal Form.

What a parent can do first

1. Tell the school the reason that day. An accepted reason is classified as sick leave or other absence rather than unexcused absence.
2. Let the child take the teacher's call. Confirmation is meant to be with the student personally, so a parent answering instead pushes the case to the next stage.
3. Do not let contact lapse. Unconfirmed whereabouts and safety is the single condition that brings home visits and police assistance forward.
4. Provide evidence for time abroad. Confirmed immigration records or an enrolment certificate can adjust the monthly confirmation requirement.
5. Ask for a meeting as day ten approaches. Ten days is where reporting begins for primary and middle school, and resolving it before that point is easier on the child.
6. For deferral and exemption at the point of school entry, see Starting primary school in Korea, step by step — the notice, pre-enrolment and deferral.

This article draws on the 2026 unexcused absence management manuals issued by provincial offices of education (stage-by-stage measures, definitions, and out-of-quota management for long-term absence), Articles 25, 26, 28, 28-2, 29 and 92-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the unexcused absence classification in the Guidelines on Preparing and Managing School Records, verified in August 2026. Reporting thresholds for consecutive absence and the detail of operation are applied flexibly under each provincial office's guidance and differ by school level, so confirm the actual procedure with your child's school and the district office of education. This article outlines how the system works and does not substitute for individual counselling or legal advice.