Jeonnam Superintendent Kim Dae-jung: "Recognize Work Experience for Teachers Affected by Political Incidents"

Superintendent Kim Apologizes, Saying "Heartbroken by the Painful Time Due to State Tyranny"

Former Jeonnam Superintendent of Education Kim Dae-jung officially apologized to teachers who suffered damages after being excluded from appointment due to political incidents and recognized the exclusion period as work experience.

The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 27th that it held a Deliberation Committee for the Restoration of Damages of Excluded Teachers and resolved to recognize the appointment exclusion period as work experience for 23 teachers related to political incidents who submitted applications for work experience recognition.

Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

Although these individuals were qualified for teacher appointments, they were excluded from appointment by the government and city/provincial education committees (now city/provincial offices of education) without reasonable grounds from the 1980s to the 1990s due to their resistance against authoritarian rule.

In June last year, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs recommended that the state apologize and take practical measures to restore damages, stating that the Ministry of Education and city/provincial education committees violated constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights.

Accordingly, the “Special Act on Measures for the Restoration of Damages of Teachers Excluded from Appointment Related to Political Incidents” has been in effect since July 10.

In an apology statement, former Jeonnam Superintendent of Education Kim Dae-jung said, “It is heartbreaking and regrettable that teachers who contributed to educational democratization by resisting authoritarian rule and who were rightfully qualified and waiting for appointment were excluded from teacher appointments without reasonable grounds and endured painful times.”

He continued, “I hope the wounds caused by the state's tyranny will heal as soon as possible, and I will stand together as a colleague who can soothe the pain of the victims.”