[Asia Economy Intern Reporter So-Young Kim] A petition titled "Adultery Scandal of Teachers at an Elementary School in Jangsu" posted on the Blue House National Petition Board last December was confirmed to be mostly true following an audit.
The Jeonbuk Office of Education announced on the 22nd that it recently notified the Jangsu Office of Education to form a disciplinary committee along with the audit results.
Previously, the provincial Office of Education conducted a direct audit to verify the facts related to the petition.
Generally, misconduct occurring in kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools is audited by the respective regional Office of Education, but at that time, the provincial Office of Education judged the matter to be very serious and initiated a direct audit.
After more than a month of auditing, most of the allegations against the teachers were confirmed to be true.
In fact, the teachers engaged in inappropriate behavior within the school and even took photos of it. During working hours, they sent private messages during class time and neglected their duties as field trip supervisors, including student safety guidance, due to their romantic activities.
Accordingly, the provincial Office of Education viewed these teachers as violating their duties of maintaining dignity and sincerity, and instructed the Jangsu Office of Education to form a disciplinary committee and take appropriate measures. They also demanded the immediate separation of the involved teachers.
The Jangsu Office of Education is forming the disciplinary committee and plans to decide on the level of disciplinary action against these teachers soon.
Earlier, on December 24th last year, a petition titled "I report two teachers who repeatedly engaged in adultery within the school, infringing even on the children's learning activities" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.
The petitioner claimed, "Married teacher A and unmarried teacher B working at an elementary school in Jangsu repeatedly engaged in romantic activities not only during class but also during field trips."
The petitioner pointed out that the teachers left the children in the care of instructors during external cultural experience time to spend time alone together, and exchanged slang and expressions typical of lovers through messenger even during class time.
They also alleged that the teachers used the classroom as a "dating place," taking about 50 photos while living with the children.
The petitioner stated, "Elementary school teachers should have high morality to serve as role models, but these two teachers shamelessly engaged in improper behavior during educational activities at the sacred school, showing no qualifications as educators," and demanded, "They should be dismissed and permanently expelled from the education field."
The petitioner further criticized the Office of Education and the regional Office of Education for their complacent response despite evidence showing problems with the teachers' dignity, qualifications, and confirmed negligence in duty.
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