By Na Jeong-ju
Eight primary and secondary schools owned by Hongik, a private foundation, are under investigation for allegedly manipulating accounting books to misappropriate 13.1 billion won ($11.6 million) of state subsidies and tuition income.
The foundation’s 83-year-old Chairman Lee Myun-young and some 25 former and incumbent school officials will be questioned over the alleged fraud, according to Seoul’s education authorities.
An audit conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) in July showed the eight schools have kept subsidies they received from the government as well as tuition collected in secret accounts.
They include Hongik High School, Hongik Middle School, Hongik Elementary School and Gyeongseong High School.
The office said it ordered the schools to return state subsidies amounting to some 3.7 billion won. The case has been referred to the prosecution.
Hongik is one of the largest private school foundations in Korea, mostly controlled by the founding families. Lee’s children and grandchildren are also deeply involved in the management of schools.
This is the latest in a series of corruption cases involving managers of private schools. Officials say such rampant corruption is largely linked to opaque and questionable management practices there.