Monitoring of Unfair Advertising in Early Childhood Academies, Private Tutoring, and Entrance Exam Consulting
199 Administrative Actions Taken... 7 Cases Including Unregistered Operations Referred for Prosecution
Rule Revisions Strengthen Penalties and Fines for Illegal Private Tutoring Activities
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has uncovered a large number of violations involving academies for young children operating unregistered courses or using names other than "academy," as well as entrance exam and consulting academies advertising curricula three years ahead or promoting academic achievements.
On the 9th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that, in collaboration with the Korea Internet Advertising Foundation, it conducted monitoring of unfair advertisements from May to October last year and identified suspected violations in 183 cases (125 institutions) of academies for young children, 211 cases of private tutors, and 249 cases (117 locations) of entrance exam guidance (consulting) academies.
For academies, the focus was on unregistered teaching, use of names other than "academy," false or exaggerated advertisements, violations of obligations to display important information such as tuition fees, and inducing excessive advanced learning. For private tutors, the focus was on unreported teaching and violations related to teaching locations.
Following the monitoring, from September 15 to December 21 last year, special inspections of academies for young children and entrance exam guidance academies resulted in the detection of 112 locations, with 199 administrative actions planned. The administrative actions include 7 cases of prosecution for unregistered operation, 4 cases of suspension of teaching, 146 cases of corrective orders (including penalty points), and 42 cases of fines.
In the case of private tutors, due to the nature of online postings limiting author information, there are constraints preventing on-site inspections. Therefore, 32 individuals whose contact information was confirmed were guided to report their private tutoring and comply with academy regulations.
Considering the limitations in supervising private tutors, the education regulations will be revised to strengthen penalty points and fines when illegal activities are detected, and policies for managing private tutors, such as activating a reward system for reporting violations, will be developed along with improvement measures.
Based on the results of the unfair advertisement monitoring, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will publish the "2021 Academy, etc. Unfair Advertisement Monitoring Violation Type Casebook," which includes suspected violation cases, related laws, and checklists, and distribute it to education offices and support offices nationwide.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to expand the unfair advertisement monitoring project for academies in 2022 and operate a continuous surveillance system.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
