Court Rules "Kindergarten Teacher Who Passed with Additional Points for National Merit, Appointment Canceled After 12 Years... Justified"

Court [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A court ruling has stated that if a person is found to have been mistakenly designated as a national merit recipient and their registration is canceled, this will be applied retroactively to the appointment exam that their child passed by receiving benefits.

According to the legal community, on the 22nd, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 13 (Presiding Judge Jang Nak-won) ruled against former kindergarten teacher A in a lawsuit filed against the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, requesting the cancellation of the decision to revoke her teacher appointment.

A passed the public kindergarten teacher appointment exam in 2007 by receiving additional points as a national merit recipient, but in August last year, 12 years later, she was notified of the cancellation of her appointment by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. This was due to issues with the war participation records of her father B, who was registered as a national merit recipient for his service in the Vietnam War.

During a physical examination process for re-evaluation of national merit recipients in 2017, the veterans affairs authorities confirmed that B’s return date from Vietnam was unclear, and in 2018, they canceled B’s registration as a national merit recipient. Consequently, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education revoked A’s appointment, who had been appointed with additional points as a national merit recipient’s child.

In response, A, who filed the lawsuit, argued that "canceling the appointment due to the cancellation of the father’s national merit registration violates the 'principle of personal responsibility'." In other words, since she did not intentionally or negligently receive benefits as a national merit recipient through B, she bears no responsibility. She also stated that B’s past application for national merit registration was guided by the veterans affairs authorities, and thus the responsibility for the situation lies with the negligence of the veterans affairs authorities in their review process.

However, the court stated, "The plaintiff (A) was appointed as a public kindergarten teacher thanks to her father’s registration as a national merit recipient, and without the additional points, A’s score alone would not have passed the exam at that time." Furthermore, the court clarified that the defendant (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) canceled the appointment and exam results based on the original exam results without the benefit of additional points, which is consistent with the 'principle of personal responsibility.'

The court partially acknowledged the negligence of the veterans affairs authorities during B’s initial national merit registration process but ruled that this decision "has the significance of correcting errors belatedly to restore fairness in competitive exams and ensure professionalism in early childhood education and transparency in teacher appointments."