Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon to Appear Today as Suspect at the Corruption Investigation Office... Statement at the Photo Line

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (center). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who is accused of abusing his authority in the special hiring process of five dismissed teachers, will appear as a suspect at the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (HOCI) on the 27th for questioning.

Before the investigation begins, Superintendent Cho is expected to stand at the photo line installed in front of the HOCI entrance and state his position regarding the current investigation.

The HOCI Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seong-moon) will summon Superintendent Cho at 9 a.m. on the same day to investigate him as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority and violation of the National Public Officials Act.

Superintendent Cho is suspected of directing the review and promotion of a special hiring plan for five dismissed teachers as educational public officials between July and August 2018.

At that time, when he received opposing opinions from the person in charge, Superintendent Cho instructed Mr. A from the Superintendent’s Secretariat to proceed with the special hiring. Mr. A selected screening committee members, including lawyers he knew personally, deviating from the existing selection method, and the dismissed teachers recommended by Superintendent Cho were selected and specially hired in January of the following year.

However, among the five specially hired teachers, four were retired teachers affiliated with the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo) who had been prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act during the 2008 Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education election, received a final guilty verdict from the Supreme Court, and were consequently retired. The remaining one was also a teacher who was fined and retired after posting comments opposing a specific candidate during the 2002 presidential election. This sparked controversy over “protecting a specific union.”

Earlier, the Board of Audit and Inspection confirmed these misconducts by Superintendent Cho through an audit, reported him to the police for violating the National Public Officials Act, and provided related misconduct as reference materials for HOCI’s investigation. Subsequently, at HOCI’s request, the police transferred the case to HOCI, which began a full-scale investigation on April 23 under the case number '2021 Gongje 1.' On May 12, an additional charge of violating the National Public Officials Act was applied to Superintendent Cho.

On May 18, HOCI Investigation Division 2 conducted a search and seizure at the Superintendent’s office on the 9th floor of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, securing documents and computer data related to the teacher hiring process in 2018.

Superintendent Cho’s side has strongly denied the charges and argued that HOCI lacks jurisdiction over the investigation.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Cho is expected to be the first suspect to stand at the photo line since HOCI’s establishment. Recently, HOCI announced the Incident Public Relations Guidelines. The disclosure of Superintendent Cho’s attendance schedule and the installation of the photo line are measures based on these newly announced guidelines.

Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the HOCI Incident Public Relations Guidelines generally prohibits the disclosure of attendance information of persons involved in cases. However, Paragraph 4 of the same article allows prior disclosure of attendance situations with the suspect’s consent in important cases already widely known to the public through media reports.

Additionally, Article 19, Paragraph 1 allows the investigating prosecutor to restrict filming, broadcasting, and recording to protect the portrait rights of persons involved in ongoing investigations. Paragraph 2 of the same article permits prior consultation with the suspect or witness regarding attendance date, method, etc., in important cases expected to attract intense media coverage, and allows measures such as installing a photo line to prevent confusion and maintain order during media coverage if requested by the suspect or witness.