Intensive crackdown launched on corruption in employing teachers

By Kim Rahn

Seoul’s education authority is conducting an intensive crackdown on corrupt practices in the hiring of teachers at private elementary, middle and high schools.

Officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said Monday that they are collecting tips amid persistent rumors of bribery during the hiring process.

“Rumors have spread widely that people at some private school foundations accept bribes from job applicants,” an SMOE official said. “We set up a regular monitoring system. We’ll take stern disciplinary measures in all cases where allegations are confirmed.”

At public schools, those who pass the state-administered teacher exam are then qualified to work as teachers and are appointed to schools. However, at private schools, a passing score on an exam is not necessary and all it takes to be hired is a teaching license, which can be obtained by completing a teaching course at a university. In this process, it is said that close ties with school foundation officials, or even bribes, often become the decisive factor in landing a job.

In a 2014 audit by SMOE, several part-time teachers obtained regular positions at private high schools despite poor performances. One of the part-timers was a relative of the foundation’s chief director.

“In Seoul, not many cases of such employment irregularity have been reported,” said the official. “But we presume there are many undetected cases where high-profile figures in foundations exercise influence or take bribes to hire specific candidates.”

It is rumored that teacher-hopefuls must offer 80 million won for a part-time job and 100 million won for a regular position, he said. “These rumors and allegations, whether true or not, damage trust in private schools.”

If a tip about corruption seems credible, SMOE will immediately launch an audit of the school. If corruption is confirmed, the office plans to request the school foundation dismiss those involved and notify the prosecution which may conduct an investigation.

Last month in Daejeon, a chief director of Daeseong Foundation, which runs five schools in the city, was sentenced to four years in jail and fined 374 million won for accepting bribes from job applicants. Twenty-two teachers who landed their jobs through bribery were also found guilty, and mostly received fines.

In Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, a middle school principal was booked without detention for receiving 900,000 won from an applicant who wished to be hired as a part-time teacher.