Cho Hee-yeon "Unnecessary Comment Controversy, Repeated Apologies to Teachers" (Comprehensive)

Emergency Supplementary Budget Briefing Reveals
"Respect for Teachers' Dedication and Sacrifice During COVID-19 Crisis"

Considering Issues of Non-Regular Workers' Treatment
Three Cotton Masks per Student

City Council Requests "Submit Revised Supplementary Budget if School Opening is Delayed"

Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, officially apologized for his remark that there are "groups who get paid without working" and "groups who do not."

On the 16th, during an emergency supplementary budget briefing related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Superintendent Cho said, "I sincerely apologize again for causing unnecessary controversy with my comments," and added, "I would like to once again offer my apologies to the teachers."

The previous day, Superintendent Cho commented on a Facebook post regarding the postponement of school openings, stating, "There are groups in schools who get paid even if they do not work, and groups who do not get paid if they do not work. If the latter group faces an additional postponement of school openings, urgent measures will be necessary."

Although this was essentially meant to express concern about the treatment of non-regular workers employed within schools, misunderstandings arose. Some teachers expressed disappointment toward Superintendent Cho.

Screenshot of Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Facebook page

Superintendent Cho said, "If there are teachers reading my Facebook post again, I want to express my respect for the teachers and my appreciation for their dedication and sacrifice during the COVID-19 crisis."

He also added, "If the school opening is postponed further, I believe extraordinary measures different from those taken in the past three weeks will be necessary, and we will prepare them through discussions with legal institutions and the council."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the same day that it will provide free public masks to all students through this supplementary budget. Each student will receive three filter-replaceable cotton masks verified to have an effectiveness of 'KF80' or higher. Each cotton mask includes four filters. Superintendent Cho explained, "Emergency mask procurement is possible through social cooperatives." The Office of Education plans to submit a supplementary budget proposal amounting to 10.1239 trillion won, an increase of 39.2 billion won from the original budget.

However, if the postponement of school openings is officially announced, there is a possibility of additional measures. Jang In-hong, Chair of the Education Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, said, "Difficulties will arise for educational public employees, after-school instructors, library program instructors, and others if the school opening is further delayed," and added, "I ask that special measures for these groups be supplemented when submitting the supplementary budget proposal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.