Jeonnam Middle School Principal's Abuse of Power: "Serious Humiliation" vs. "Unfair"

Union: "Repeated verbal abuse and power harassment," Principal: "All lies"

The principal of a certain middle school in Jeonnam region has been accused of abusing power against the administrative director.

On the 11th, the Jeonnam Education Office branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU) held a press conference in front of the provincial education office entrance, stating, "The principal of a certain middle school in Jeonnam repeatedly abused power against the school administrative director," and added, "The principal insulted the administrative director by saying, 'We can't work together, so leave this September. Get a grip on yourself,' and when the administrative director, who was feeling unwell, said they would take sick leave, the principal indirectly cursed, saying, 'If the administrative director takes sick leave due to illness, XXX must happen.'"

The Jeonnam Office of Education Branch of the National Public Officials Labor Union held a press conference in front of the entrance of the Office of Education to condemn the abuse of power by school principals. Photo by Jeonnam Office of Education Labor Union

The union stated, "The principal gave special work privileges to certain employees who disobeyed the administrative director's instructions. The employee in question is a permanent contract worker who cannot be rotated, and despite enjoying work benefits through personal connections with the principal, their habitual unauthorized absence from the workplace was overlooked," and added, "In particular, the principal was revealed through a complaint to the National Newspaper (Gukmin Sinmungo) to have given retaliatory low work evaluation scores to employees opposing fraudulent acts, showing the severity of the abuse, which can be called the ultimate power abuse."

They continued, "The principal publicly scolded the administrative director by saying, 'Supervise the construction properly,' and when the administrative director refused to approve improper budget expenditures, the principal tore up the proposal document in a meeting attended by the vice principal and insulted them," and "Moreover, the principal committed accounting irregularities by cultivating onions in the school flowerbed for personal purposes and using the school budget to pay for daily laborers' wages and farming expenses."

The union demanded a thorough investigation and punishment of the principal's abuse, as well as the establishment of a dedicated investigative organization directly under the superintendent that can handle investigation, punishment, and healing in a one-stop process.

The union said, "The administrative director who suffered from the abuse is enduring pain every hour, but the principal only received a warning from the education office audit. The education office's response to the abuse seems extremely passive and lenient," and "There is a need to establish a dedicated organization directly under the superintendent that can conduct investigation, punishment, and healing in a one-stop manner."

In response, the principal of the school stated, "The claims made by the union and the administrative director are not true at all. I planted the onions by myself and never mobilized staff to cultivate them," and "The claim that a certain employee enjoyed special benefits is also nonsense. That employee was hired under the condition of working from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Moreover, the employment contract was made by the previous principal, and I barely know that employee."

He added, "For the past year, the administrative director has been constantly recording conversations and selectively using some parts as issues," and "I felt so wronged that I even considered legal action, but since I am retiring in a month, I do not want to drag surrounding staff into a legal battle, so I am holding back."

An official from the education office said, "The warning given to the principal was judged based on objective criteria considering the overall situation," and expressed regret, saying, "We regret the suspicion raised about the fairness and appropriateness of the audit administration simply because the complainant's demands were not met."