"Gwangju Education Has Regressed by 20 Years"
Calls for Whistleblowing and Operation of Corruption Reporting Center
Teacher and staff organizations in Gwangju have exposed personnel and recruitment corruption within the Gwangju Office of Education, calling for the resignation of Superintendent Lee Jungseon. They criticized, "All personnel decisions at the Gwangju Office of Education are controlled by an unofficial power broker, Choi," and added, "Gwangju education has regressed by 20 years."
On the 26th, five local teacher and staff organizations, including the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Gwangju Teachers Union, held a press conference in the press room on the second floor of the Gwangju Office of Education. They exposed personnel and recruitment corruption and demanded the superintendent's resignation.
They stated, "The saying that all personnel decisions at the Gwangju Office of Education go through Choi is considered a fact, at least within the Gwangju Office of Education," and criticized, "Gwangju education has gone back 20 years."
They continued, "The corruption in the recruitment of the audit officer alone is enough reason for resignation," and raised suspicions that "the superintendent earnestly persuaded his friend Yoo Byungil three times to apply for the position of audit officer at the Gwangju Office of Education."
Regarding the audit officer recruitment corruption, they criticized, "The superintendent initially claimed not to know the candidate, but when the newspaper presented evidence, he changed his statement to 'I only found out after he applied.' During the National Assembly audit, he confessed, 'I was glad my friend applied, and if possible, I wanted to evaluate him more favorably, even in my heart.'"
Five organizations, including the Gwangju Branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, the Gwangju Practical Education Teachers' Group, the Gwangju Teachers' Labor Union, the Gwangju Branch of the School Non-Regular Staff Labor Union, and the Gwangju Branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, held a press conference at the Gwangju Office of Education on the 26th, urging Superintendent Lee Jungseon to resign. Photo by Song Bohyun
They also pointed out, "That friend did not make it into the top two, but the personnel officer manipulated the scores to place him second, and the superintendent decided to appoint his friend, who was second, instead of the first-ranked candidate. The personnel officer has been arrested, but the superintendent has not resigned."
Suspicions regarding corruption in procurement, facility construction, and contracts were also raised. They criticized, "There are rumors that it is faster to talk to a contractor than to the department in charge at the Office of Education when dealing with school complaints," and added, "There are even rumors that certain personnel positions are reserved for waterproofing contractors." They further stated, "The facility budget for private schools has increased several times compared to the past, and corruption involving contractors has occurred in this process."
The teacher and staff organizations announced that they would operate a corruption reporting center starting today.
They appealed, "We will accept reports on the buying and selling of positions, facility, procurement, and contract corruption, as well as audit officer recruitment corruption. Please become a whistleblower to set Gwangju education right." They emphasized, "We are exposing the unofficial power broker who is the root of Gwangju education corruption, and only with the superintendent's resignation can Gwangju education be normalized. We can no longer tolerate corruption in Gwangju education."
The press conference was attended by the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, the Gwangju Teachers Union, the Gwangju Practical Education Teachers' Association, the Gwangju branch of the School Irregular Workers' Union, and the Education Office branch of the Gwangju Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union.
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