Difficulty in Correcting Jomin's Student Record... Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education: "Possible Only After Final Judgment According to Guidelines"

Jomin's Statement on Correction of Life Record at Han Young Foreign Language High School
"Position is that active response is necessary, but there are difficulties in taking measures"
The court refuses to provide the judgment document and has not secured materials related to the cancellation of the thesis

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is facing difficulties in obtaining court rulings and theses before correcting the school records of Cho Min, the daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, at Han Young Foreign Language High School. The guidelines related to student records specify that corrections can only be made after a final court ruling, which has caused various challenges.

At a press conference held at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 29th, Ko Hyo-seon, Director of Secondary Education at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "According to the Ministry of Education's directive, the guidelines for recording student records require corrections to be based on the final ruling, and corrections are restricted while appeals or higher court reviews are ongoing." He added, "Although we are reviewing internally, it is difficult to decide on any actions, but we hold the position that a more proactive response is necessary."

Director Ko explained, "An investigation began immediately after the issue was raised, and since investigations have stronger binding power than audits or inspections, the usual procedure is to take measures based on the results after the investigation concludes and the court ruling is issued."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education requested the first trial court ruling from the court to secure materials related to the request for correction of the school record, but this was also refused. Director Ko said, "Last week, we sent an official letter to the court requesting the first trial ruling, but the court responded that it was difficult to determine the appropriateness and necessity of providing it, so provision was not possible," adding, "Since it is difficult to obtain the ruling, we are looking for other approaches or additional ways to request materials."

They also requested materials related to the first trial ruling and thesis from the Korean Society of Pathologists, which canceled the thesis listing Cho as an author, but received a negative response. The society canceled the thesis where Cho was listed as the first author due to 'research misconduct,' and this information remains in Cho's school record.

Director Ko explained, "We cannot base corrections of the school record on materials presented by a third party, so we requested the same materials from the Korean Society of Pathologists," adding, "We requested the notice of thesis retraction published in the journal called JPPM, the official cancellation notice on the Pathology Society's official website, and the author statement assessing participation in the thesis."

Since more than 10 years have passed since Cho graduated and the retention period for admission-related documents has expired, there are significant difficulties in investigating corrections to the school record.

Regarding criticism that the process is delayed compared to the handling of admission fraud allegations involving Jung Yoo-ra, daughter of Choi Seo-won, who was called a secret power broker, Director Ko explained, "At that time, Jung had recently graduated from high school, so there were verifiable documents available, and a false attendance record was processed," adding, "In this case, there is no violation by the school, and the recording of off-campus experiences was allowed at the time."