By Lee Kyung-min
The government has refused to recognize that two part-time teachers at Danwon High School, who perished in the ferry Sewol sinking, died while on duty because they were not full-time teachers who are categorized as public servants.
According to the bereaved family members of Kim Cho-won, 26, and Lee Ji-hye, 31, Sunday, the Ministry of Personnel Management recently rejected their request to recognize the deaths of Kim and Lee as that of public servants.
The ferry sank off the coast of Jindo Island in April last year claiming more than 300 lives. Of nine Danwon teachers who died, the two were the only ones denied such status because they were non-regular teachers. The other seven regular teachers were recognized as such, and buried at the Seoul National Cemetery.
In a letter to the families, the ministry said the two were not eligible for government compensation for public servants.
The families, civic groups and many politicians have claimed that Kim and Lee should be treated the same as other teachers because they also sacrificed themselves to help students get out of the sinking ferry.
Sixty-nine lawmakers of ruling and opposition parties filed a petition last month to demand equal compensation for the two. Thousands of non-regular workers also signed a separate petition.
“What difference did they have other than they were non-regular workers? Their deaths are as dignified as the seven others, who did their best to save the children,” the families said in a statement.