Controversy Arises Over Posting Advisory and Supervisory Professors of Late Former Mayor Park Won-soon

Seoul City Councilor Heo Hoon Criticizes Seoul National University of Science and Technology 4th Legislative Policy Advanced Course for Including Late Former Mayor Park Won-soon as Advisor and Supervising Professor

Concerns over political bias and poor management in the university's legislative policy advanced course leading to waste of public funds... Former city council members recruiting councilors as students and instructors repeatedly participating in city council policy research contracts create a vicious cycle that must be broken, he argues

On the 9th, Seoul City Councilor Heo Hoon (People Power Party, Yangcheon 2) received a work report from the City Council Secretariat at the 316th Extraordinary Session Operations Committee meeting and urged the establishment of an evaluation system and strict management for outsourced external education for councilors.

The City Council Secretariat operates and develops various in-house education programs to strengthen councilors' legislative capabilities and supports their participation in external outsourced education provided by universities and private institutions.

However, some outsourced education programs have politically biased instructors and poor management, limiting their effectiveness in enhancing councilors' capabilities, and there is no evaluation system for these external education programs.

In particular, the 4th Legislative Policy Advanced Course operated by Seoul National University of Science and Technology charges a tuition fee of 3 million KRW paid by the council as education expenses. The course features lectures by a former progressive Seoul Superintendent of Education, who lost his position after being sentenced to imprisonment, criticizing the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's education policies. Additionally, many former city councilors from the Democratic Party are listed as advisors and faculty members as if they were current councilors.

Moreover, recent promotional materials sent to the council openly introduce the late former Mayor Park Won-soon as part of the faculty, demonstrating the course's inadequate management.

In response, Councilor Heo Hoon pointed out, "There are many recruitment announcements for outsourced education, but without evaluation and monitoring of the quality and level of education, there is concern about waste of taxpayers' money," and proposed, "To prevent this, the city council should establish thorough prior review and post-evaluation systems for these programs."

He added, "The Legislative Policy Advanced Course at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, led by a former senior expert of the city council as the responsible professor, recruits councilors as students, and instructors participating in the course repeatedly use this network to apply for city council policy research contracts every year, creating a vicious cycle," urging, "Firm measures are needed to ensure that outsourced education programs operated with citizens' taxes do not become tools for someone's personal achievements."