The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 10th requested disciplinary action against 142 teachers in Seoul who illegally engaged in transaction of test items with private education companies. The measure follows a specific audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection that reviewed teachers' transaction of items with private education companies from 2018 to 2023.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education notified affiliated institutions of the audit results for 54 public school teachers and 88 private school teachers. Of the public school teachers, 4 will face severe disciplinary action (a disciplinary surcharge triple the base amount), and 50 will face minor disciplinary action (a disciplinary surcharge equal to the base amount). Of the private school teachers, 14 will face severe disciplinary action (dismissal for 1, demotion for 2, suspension for 11), and 74 will face minor disciplinary action (pay cuts for 69, reprimands for 5). The disciplinary surcharges imposed on public school teachers total 4.1 billion won.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "For private school teachers, we required the school foundation to report the results after imposing disciplinary measures," and added, "For public school teachers, we plan to immediately begin disciplinary procedures."
Major misconduct cases include, in addition to transaction of items with private education companies, ▲ setting questions on school exams using items sold to private education companies ▲ teachers forming teams in an organized manner to provide items and receive compensation. These actions violate the State Public Officials Act (ban on profit-making work and concurrent positions), the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (ban on receiving money and valuables), and the Private Teaching Institutes Act (restrictions on private tutoring by teachers). Among these, those who violated the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act will be reported to investigative authorities.
To ensure equity between public and private school teachers, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education proposed revising laws related to imposing disciplinary surcharges so that the same standards can apply to private school teachers, for whom there is currently no legal basis. It also plans to propose to the Ministry of Education improvements to the National Education Information System (NEIS) to preemptively block profit-making work and private tutoring by teachers.
Jeong Geun-sik, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "The act of transaction of items with private education companies is serious misconduct that betrays the trust of students and parents and undermines a fair educational environment," adding, "We will not tolerate any act that damages fairness in the education field and the responsibility of the teaching profession, and we will strengthen institutional improvements and integrity education to prevent a recurrence."