Supreme Court: Remaining Kindergarten Specialized Education Funds Can Be Used for Operating Expenses

Allowed to use kindergarten funds left over as operating expenses
'Return to parents' education office order is illegal

When a kindergarten improperly withdraws surplus funds remaining after using the specialized education fees received from parents to a third party, the competent education office can recover the funds back to the kindergarten, but cannot order that the funds be returned to the parents, the Supreme Court ruled.

Mr. A collected specialized education fees from parents annually from 2008 to 2018, and improperly withdrew 1.463 billion KRW remaining after using the funds for student education into the church account that established the kindergarten. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education conducted an audit, confirmed this fact, and ordered the amount to be recovered to the kindergarten and then fully returned to the parents.

However, Mr. A filed a lawsuit challenging the education office’s recovery and return order.

The first and second trials ruled to divide the recovered amount and return it to both the kindergarten and the parents.

However, the Supreme Court’s judgment was different. The Supreme Court’s Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) announced on the 3rd that it overturned the lower court’s ruling in the appeal trial of Mr. A’s lawsuit against the Seoul Metropolitan Superintendent of Education seeking cancellation of the recovery and return order, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

The Supreme Court decided that the recovered amount should be returned entirely to the kindergarten’s accounts, stating, “The education office’s order to recover the improperly withdrawn specialized education fees to the kindergarten is lawful, but ordering that the funds be returned to the parents again is excessive.”

The Supreme Court explained, “If kindergarten students did not receive specialized education, an order to return the money to the parents can be made, but since the students actually received specialized education, there is no need to refund the surplus specialized education fees to the parents.”

The Supreme Court further stated, “The kindergarten can incorporate the surplus specialized education fees received from parents into the school expense accounts and use them for necessary personnel expenses for kindergarten operation, facility and equipment expenses required for education, etc. There is no legal basis that specialized education fees must be spent entirely on specialized education.”