Kong Doesn’t Deserve Top Education Post

Dear editor,

Regarding an Oct. 14 editorial, ``Money and Education," my opinion is that Kong Jeong-taek, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, must resign because he accepted and used inappropriate money.

A superintendent should have integrity. In spite of using hagwan money for his campaign, he promised impudently that he would reduce the ever-rising costs for private tutoring. It shows he doesn't deserve to be an education superintendent.

The government should take radical steps to prevent the recurrence of such a scandal. Surprisingly, Kong said that borrowing from his acquaintances was not against the law. Prosecutors should know that it is obviously an illegal act to borrow lots of money from hagwon owners even if they are acquaintances.

Because Kong was an education superintendent over the last three years and a strong candidate for next superintendent, it is very doubtful that hagwon owners lent him money spontaneously without any expectations of help from him.

In addition, Seoul citizens should take more interest in the election of the education superintendent. If all citizens would be more careful to choose a good one, they would already know Kong's faults before the election: Kong had already made policies favoring cram schools during the last three years.

At the time of the July election, shamefully, voter turnout stood at only 15 percent. It showed the citizens' indifference to Seoul's education.

I think this disgraceful scandal was caused by the low moral standard of the superintendent and the indifference of voters. For the future development of Seoul's education, this scandal has to be taken care of properly according to relevant laws.

Lee Shin-hwa Seoul danbalmam@hanmail.net