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| Students hand out fliers in Seoul containing a newspaper article about alleged corruption at Choongam High School related to its meal system, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
Choongam High School, a private school in northwestern Seoul, was always short of food, said students.
Students who joined the cafeteria line late at the school sometimes ended up with nothing. And even when they got something, the food did not taste good, students complained. Some posted pictures of their food online to show how "awful" it looked.
On Sunday, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education revealed what might be the reason behind the unpalatable food ― embezzlement.
"We found problems in the school meal system and evidence of embezzlement amounting to at least 410 million won ($350,000)," the education office said. "We asked the prosecution to investigate 18 people, including the former principal and school meal subcontractors, and are seeking to dismiss some of them."
According to the education office, the suspects allegedly worked together to siphon off some of the school's food supplies from 2012 until recently.
The office said it has already secured evidence, including video footage showing one of the suspects stealing food.
Speaking to a local radio station, a teacher from the school said that cooks reused cooking oil until "it turned black" and fried dishes often had questionable black powder on them.
"Our school has received a low score from the education office's sanitation inspection almost every year," the teacher said.
According to the office, some cooks of the school said they felt guilty making and serving low-quality food to students.
It wasn't just food. The suspects have also been accused of having overstated the need for other supplies, such as paper cups and napkins, to make some extra cash.
When the education office started its investigation about the case in May, the suspects tried to hide evidence of their alleged crimes, according to the office.
Alumni of Choongam and school parents have been calling on the school to reveal more detailed information about its account books.
They said they will launch their own investigation into the allegations.
The school has denied the allegations. Its principal, Bang Sang-kuk, said in a statement that he is considering filing a complaint with police against the education office for libel.
He admitted that cooking oil was used twice to save costs, but not more than that.
This isn't the first time for the school to draw extensive media attention.
On April 2, the school's vice principal, Kim Jong-kap, was criticized for cursing some students who were late in paying fees for meals at the school cafeteria.
He reportedly checked each student's name and humiliated them in front of other students, saying, "Those who don't pay don't deserve food."
After the incident came under the spotlight, the school issued an apology on its website. But, the inspection by the education office was started.
