Only 164 kindergartens to suspend its operation
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Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae speaks at a press briefing in Seoul ahead of a meeting to discuss how to deal with the Korea Kindergarten Association's threat to suspend operations indefinately to protest government moves to make them more financially transparent. /Yonhap
By Kim Jae-heun
The education minister said, Friday, only 164 private kindergartens are likely to suspend operations to protest government moves to make them more financially transparent.
That number is five percent of the Korea Kindergarten Association's (KKA) 3,100 membership, and is far short of the organization's estimate of 60 percent, or 2,000.
“Unlike the KKA's claim, the number of private kindergartens that plan to delay opening for the new semester amounts to 164 nationwide as of now,” Minister Yoo Eun-hae said before an emergency meeting with representatives of regional education offices in Seoul, one day after the association threatened the action.
“Ninety-seven institutes out of the 164 will provide their own care services for working parents.”
However, she admitted that the ministry still has to confirm whether 30 percent of the remaining KKA members will stick with the suspension plan, adding that the final figure will be posted on the education office's website soon.
In response to the government's plan to introduce the state-run Edufine accounting system starting this month, the KKA announced, Thursday, it would delay opening for the spring semester indefinitely.
Last October, private kindergartens made headlines after Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea revealed a large number of cases of corruption including accounting fraud and budget misappropriation at kindergartens. Private kindergartens operate with both state subsidies and tuition from parents.
Park proposed three bills last year aimed at enhancing the accounting transparency of private kindergartens, but the KKA strongly opposes them.
The three bills ensure private kindergartens have to adopt the state-run accounting system for public institutes, prohibit founders of kindergartens from serving as principals, and impose the outsourcing of children's meal services only to operators certified by the institution's operation council.
Meanwhile, the education ministry vowed to take strong measures against kindergarten owners' who suspend operations, calling it “taking parents and children hostage.”
According to the current law, kindergartens in groups cannot close temporarily or shut down their institutes without the approval of the parents.
The KKA said their delay in opening is not violating the law but working-to-rule.
The education minister said the ministry will conduct inspections on kindergartens purposely delaying their opening.
The ministry also made it mandatory to adopt Edufine at private kindergartens with more than 200 children.
A total of 581 large kindergartens are subject to this ruling.
Some 105 small and medium-size kindergartens have already offered to adopt Edufine as of Jan. 15.