Calls have been made to strengthen protective measures to prevent retaliatory disciplinary actions and personnel disadvantages against public interest whistleblowers in private schools, and to transfer disciplinary reviews of private school teachers to the education authorities.
The National Teachers Union (Chairman Park Young-hwan) held a forum titled 'National Assembly Symposium on Improving the Private School Law and System for Enhancing Publicness and Transparency in Private Schools for the Protection of Public Interest Reporters' in the 9th conference room of the National Assembly Members' Office at 2 p.m. on the 14th, in collaboration with the Participatory Solidarity Public Interest Reporting Support Center, Transparency International Korea, and the Horuragi Foundation.
At the symposium, co-hosted by Kim Moon-soo and Ko Min-jeong's parliamentary offices, the limitations of the protection system for public interest whistleblowers in private schools were examined, and ways to improve laws and systems to enhance the publicness and transparency of private school operations were discussed.
The symposium was organized following the death of a teacher who reported irregularities in a private high school in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province in May, where embezzlement of approximately 3 billion won from the school corporation was confirmed during an audit by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Participants diagnosed the incident not as an exceptional problem at one school, but as a structural issue where public interest whistleblowers are not protected, and the management and supervision of private schools by educational authorities are not functioning properly.
"73.9% of teachers find it difficult to report public interest due to fear of disadvantages," said Chairman Park Young-hwan of the National Teachers Union, emphasizing that the disciplinary actions, isolation, and repeated disadvantages that followed the reporting of irregularities are typical retaliatory measures against public interest whistleblowers.
Chairman Park stressed, "As private schools are responsible for public education, private school teachers should receive fair personnel management and protection similar to public school teachers," and emphasized the need to strengthen the authority of educational authorities for management and supervision and to revise the Private School Law to effectively protect public interest whistleblowers.
The first presenter, Oh Wook, former chairman of the National Teachers Union, announced the results of a survey conducted on 2,388 private school teachers nationwide.
According to the survey results, 73.9% of respondents stated that they find it difficult to report public interest due to concerns about personal disadvantages. 48% responded that they have directly experienced or witnessed retaliatory disciplinary actions, targeted personnel decisions, lawsuits, and complaints after reporting public interest or refusing unfair instructions.
80.3% of respondents stated that the Teacher Personnel Committee does not function as an independent body to curb the abuse of personnel authority by school principals. 88.7% of respondents also stated that the Teacher Disciplinary Committee does not function as an effective mechanism to prevent retaliatory or excessive disciplinary actions.
Oh, the chairman, proposed measures for improvement, including prohibiting disadvantages against public interest whistleblowers, introducing the authority for temporary suspension and restoration orders by the relevant education authorities, democratizing the Teacher Personnel Committee, and transferring the disciplinary review of elementary and secondary private school teachers to the education authorities.
"Autonomy of academia distorted into autonomy of foundations"
The second presenter, Jung Dae-hwa, a member of the Private School Conflict Resolution Committee, emphasized that issues in academia should be approached from the perspective of operational structure and the publicness of education, rather than individual irregularities.
Jung pointed out that the autonomy of academia has been distorted into the 'autonomy of foundations' rather than the autonomy of schools and education. It is necessary to view academia as a public asset responsible for public education, not as intellectual property.
Jung proposed restructuring the board into a structure that can guarantee public interest and increasing transparency in operations and finances. The board should be responsible for the medium to long-term development and financial operation of the school, the election of the school principal, but the personnel authority over the faculty should be delegated to the school, Jung argued.
Furthermore, a new social consensus is needed to strengthen the financial responsibility of the state and the public nature and duty of academia, Jung emphasized.
"Retaliatory lawsuits should also be included in retaliatory measures"
In the designated discussions, there was a consensus on the need for practical protective measures for public interest whistleblowers.
Lee Young-ki, director of the Horuragi Foundation, pointed out that the current scope of application of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act and regulations on retaliatory measures alone are insufficient to adequately protect public interest whistleblowers in private schools.
Lee suggested expanding the laws targeting public interest disclosures and the scope of public interest violations, and including lawsuits and civil litigation aimed at pressuring whistleblowers in retaliatory measures. Lee also stated that the Private School Law should include provisions prohibiting harassment of public interest whistleblowers within the workplace, strengthening the independence of the Teacher Personnel Committee and the Disciplinary Committee, and increasing the effectiveness of canceling approval for the appointment of school corporation executives.
Park Eun-seon, a member of the Participatory Solidarity Public Interest Reporting Support Center, evaluated the significance of this survey in confirming statistically the 'structure of fear' among teachers who fear disadvantages after public interest reporting.
Park proposed that the prohibition of retaliatory measures against public interest whistleblowers should be codified in the Private School Law, and a system of enforcement fines should be introduced to enforce immediate protective measures and restoration. Park also suggested electing all members of the Teacher Personnel Committee from the faculty council and mandating the mandatory inclusion of standard operating regulations prepared by the relevant education authorities in the school regulations. The disciplinary review of private school teachers should be transferred to the Education Public Servants Disciplinary Committee, and the protection of temporary teachers and the expansion of legal support for public interest whistleblowers' litigation costs should also be increased, Park added.
"Disciplinary authority used as a means to pressure teachers who raise issues"
Kang So-yeon, a field teacher, pointed out that retaliatory disciplinary actions and personnel disadvantages have been repeated against teachers who report public interest or raise issues in school operations at private schools, and many cases are still unresolved.
Kang stated, "Once retaliatory measures begin, it becomes difficult for teachers, students, and educational activities to recover," emphasizing the need for mechanisms to swiftly halt personnel and disciplinary procedures related to public interest reporting.
In particular, Kang emphasized that the disciplinary authority of private schools can be 'weaponized' as a means to pressure or silence teachers who raise issues, and to prevent this, the disciplinary review of private school teachers should be transferred to the education authorities.
Kang Hye-seung, the Seoul representative of the Participatory Education Parents Association, pointed out that despite receiving significant public funding, private schools monopolize disciplinary authority, and teachers who raise issues are embroiled in disciplinary actions and lawsuits for extended periods.
Kang suggested expanding practical protection such as legal and financial support for public interest whistleblowers even after reinstatement. Protecting public interest whistleblowers and ensuring fair personnel and disciplinary procedures are not just systems for teachers but are basic conditions to maintain a stable educational environment for students and the trust of parents in schools, Kang emphasized.
"Causal relationship between reporting and retaliatory measures should be presumed"
Kim Beom-joo, a legislative researcher at the National Assembly Legislative Research Service, presented legal and procedural issues that need to be addressed for the proposed improvements to lead to actual legislation.
Kim stated that the scope of reports recognized as public interest whistleblowing should be clarified, and regulations should be established to allow for the legal presumption of a causal relationship between reporting and subsequent retaliatory measures to reduce the burden of proof on whistleblowers.
Kim proposed granting the right to apply for protective measures to the parties involved, not solely relying on the authority of the relevant education authorities, and stipulating the application processing deadline and obligation to notify results in the law. Effective sanctions such as enforcement fines are necessary for swift restoration, Kim added.
However, to transfer the disciplinary review of private school teachers to the education authorities, comprehensive design is required, including investigations into disciplinary reasons, data acquisition methods, coordination with the protection procedures for public interest whistleblowers, and the objection and retrial procedures of school corporations, Kim pointed out.
The National Teachers Union urged, "Protecting public interest whistleblowers is not just about protecting one teacher but about safeguarding students' right to education, the publicness of schools, and the societal trust in public education," calling on the National Assembly and the government to take action to amend the Private School Law for the substantial protection of public interest teachers and the democratic operation of the Teacher Personnel Committee and the transfer of the disciplinary review of private school teachers to the education authorities.
"Controversy over biased composition of the Wan-san Foundation's temporary board"
The issues of the publicness of academia and the control of personnel and disciplinary authority raised at the symposium are also related to the case of the Wan-san Foundation in Jeonbuk Province.
After irregularities involving embezzlement and bribery amounting to tens of billions of won by the founders were revealed, the Wan-san Foundation, which operates Wan-san Middle School and Wan-san Girls' High School, was converted to a temporary board system in accordance with a decision by the Ministry of Education's Private School Conflict Resolution Committee in 2019. However, it has not been normalized for over seven years.
The current temporary board is composed of third-term temporary directors appointed by the Ministry of Education's Private School Conflict Resolution Committee in October 2024, following the recommendation of the former Jeonbuk Superintendent of Education at the time of Seo Geoseok's passing.
Seo, the former superintendent, was prosecuted for disseminating false information during the 2022 superintendent election process and was fined 5 million won by the Supreme Court on June 26, 2025, leading to the revocation of his superintendent position. As the temporary board recommended during Seo's tenure is embroiled in several controversies surrounding personnel and operational matters, questions about the fairness of the recommendation and appointment procedures have resurfaced.
Among the Wan-san Foundation's teaching staff, concerns have been raised about the biased composition of the board. The eight temporary directors notified by the Private School Conflict Resolution Committee were classified into four education sector representatives and one each from civil society organizations, media, legal professions, and medical fields. However, the teaching staff argue that out of the five members, including the chairman, five have a background of working in the same education-related civil society organization, indicating that individuals from specific organizations dominate the board's decision-making process.
This composition weakens internal oversight and balance within the board, raising concerns that specific personal relationships or positions may excessively influence decision-making.
"The legitimacy of teacher personnel transfers was claimed but overturned in the appeals process"
Personnel matters within the Wan-san Foundation's board have also sparked controversy. The board claimed that a specific teacher's personnel transfer was an 'exercise of legitimate personnel authority,' and classified objections to this as false claims, even revealing plans for legal action.
However, the Education Ministry's Teacher Appeals Review Committee overturned the personnel transfer decision. It has been confirmed that the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education issued corrective orders following the Teacher Appeals Review Committee's decision. The reason for the need for management and supervision by educational authorities regarding whether the board's personnel authority exercise was appropriate is due to this.
The Wan-san Foundation case demonstrates that even under a temporary board system, the publicness and transparency of academia are not automatically guaranteed. If even the temporary board dispatched to correct irregularities is not free from controversies over biased composition and personnel authority exercise, there is a need to establish institutional control mechanisms that do not rely on specific individuals or the board's judgments.
Therefore, demands for codifying democratic composition and independence of the Teacher Personnel Committee, transferring the disciplinary review of private school teachers to the education authorities, and immediate cessation and restoration orders for personnel and disciplinary disadvantages against public interest whistleblowers need to be enshrined in the Private School Law, gaining more persuasive power.
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