The number of primary and secondary education teachers looking to retire early this year in Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province has skyrocketed from last year, education officials said Tuesday.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 920 teachers from elementary, middle and high schools have applied for early retirement this February, up 188 from February 2011.

Of those, the greatest increase came from public school teachers as 691 applied for early retirement in February, compared to 547 during the same time last year.

According to the report, the increase in numbers this year seems to have been affected by the increasing difficulty of controlling the classroom and changes in the educational atmosphere.

The numbers were much higher in Gyeonggi Province, where 563 elementary and middle school teachers asked for early retirement in February, a staggering 44.7 percent increase.

The rise among middle school teachers this year was even higher, at 90.9 percent.

The education office recognizes retirement for teachers with at least 20 years of experience.

“It seems as though the teachers are having a hard time because of the increasing difficulty of controlling students in the classroom while respect for teachers continues to fall,” said one SMOE official who declined to be named.

There is an increasing number of early retirement applications with only a set budget to handle severance pay by the office.

According to the SMOE, the budget for severance pay for retirees is the same as last year at 28 billion won ($24.2 million), leaving the office no choice but to accept only half or some 300 resignations.

By Robert Lee (robert@heraldcorp.com)