Gwangju Office of Education Faces Allegations of Favoritism in 'Student International Exchange Program' Contracts

Citizen Group "Focus on Contracts with Specific Companies"
City Education Office "Cannot Intervene in Bidding Process"

The “Global Leader World Tour” project promoted by the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education has come under scrutiny. This follows criticism from educational organizations that the service contracts for the project have been concentrated with two specific travel agencies.

On the 16th, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education and the Citizens' Coalition for an Egalitarian Society, the Office of Education carried out 15 student exchange projects this year.

The Citizens' Coalition stated, "The Office of Education expanded the number of international student exchange projects from 12 last year to 15 this year, with the total budget exceeding 2 billion KRW. However, contracts for the projects are still concentrated with specific travel agencies."

According to data analyzed by the Citizens' Coalition through the government procurement system (G2B), the Office of Education contracted with four travel agencies this year, with two companies, A and B, each handling five of the 16 projects.

2024 Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Student International Exchange Project Bidding Status. Provided by Citizens' Group for a Society Without Academic Discrimination.

The total bid amount was 2.31383 billion KRW. Of this, company A received approximately 765 million KRW, and company B about 755 million KRW, accounting for 33.1% and 32.6% of the total amount, respectively.

The Citizens' Coalition claimed, “In the case of the European Literature Tour project, the bid amounts between companies A and B differed by only 1 million KRW in a 200 million KRW project. This raises suspicions that the two companies might be taking turns winning the bids.”

They also pointed out, “Two projects with budgets between 100 million and 200 million KRW were conducted through private contracts, which appears to be a forced interpretation of relevant laws. The Office of Education has yet to present clear measures to address the issue of contract concentration with specific companies.”

Furthermore, they emphasized, “Last year, there were suspicions that preferential treatment was given to a specific company by changing bidding qualifications in the student democracy and human rights international exchange project.”

The Citizens' Coalition expressed concerns, saying, “There are serious worries about whether vested interests are involved in the international exchange projects and whether funds are being spent wastefully. The Office of Education must thoroughly audit the projects and prepare improvement measures to dispel these suspicions.”

They warned, “If the Office of Education misses the opportunity to self-reflect and make corrections, we will consider measures such as filing a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection to ensure that student international exchange projects are operated transparently and fairly.”

Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education building.

In response, the Office of Education stated that there is no part of the project contract process in which the education office can intervene.

An official from the Office of Education explained, “In the first half of this year, we held four briefing sessions on service bidding for 283 travel agencies based in Gwangju. During the lowest qualified bid process, the education office does not know who participated or at what amount. We operate fairly and with integrity.”

They added, “Next year, as the project enters its third year, we will actively review various issues raised and seek more reasonable and wise methods.”

The “Student Global Leader World Tour Program” is a campaign pledge by Superintendent Lee Jeong-seon, aimed at helping students in the Gwangju area grow into future talents with global citizenship by engaging in activities worldwide. This year, 477 students participated in 16 programs, including △ Democracy, Human Rights, Peace, and History △ IT (Information and Communication Technology) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) △ Culture and Arts △ Youth Overseas Volunteering △ Globalization of the May 18 Democratic Movement △ Academic Exploration. The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education plans to operate 16 programs again next year.