"Even if closed, salaries must be paid... Government support needed for academies" Appears in National Petition

[Source - Cheongwadae National Petition Board]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Shin-won] Following the government's decision to postpone the start of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) outbreak, and its recommendation for frontline hagwons (private academies) to temporarily close, there have been calls for government-supported closure orders for hagwons as well.

On the 24th, a petition titled "Government-supported closure orders are needed for hagwons too" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board. The petitioner, who identified themselves as a hagwon operator, stated, "Although there is a recommendation to close hagwons due to COVID-19, it is said that the enforcement decree of the Hagwon Act, which allows for hagwon fee refunds, will be amended," adding, "However, as self-employed individuals, even if we close, we still have to pay salaries, vehicle maintenance costs, rent, utilities, and other expenses."

They continued, "Even though schools are closed, teachers still receive their salaries, but no policies have been introduced for hagwons," and said, "Parents are asking for refunds, the government is telling us to close, and in reality, we must close to prevent infection, so we also need support."

In fact, each metropolitan and provincial office of education currently lacks the legal grounds under the existing Hagwon Act to issue closure orders to hagwons, so only recommendations are made. However, according to a report by EBS, the Ministry of Education plans to add a regulation stating that "if learners are quarantined from hagwons due to infectious diseases, tuition fees must be refunded." Therefore, the costs incurred from refunds fall on the hagwons that decide to close, which reportedly causes many hagwons to hesitate to close due to the loss of tuition fees.