Hearing Held on Cancellation of Seoul International Middle School Re-Designation... Increasing Confusion in Education Sector

Cancellation of Designation for Seoul Daewon and Yeonghun
Extension of Status for Gyeonggi Cheongshim and Busan

Conflicting Decisions by Provincial Education Offices
"Policy to Abolish Privileged Schools Causes Confusion"
Appeal "Administrative Lawsuit Announced"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Confusion in the education sector is intensifying due to conflicting conclusions among metropolitan and provincial education offices regarding the re-designation of international middle schools.

On the 25th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will conduct a hearing procedure to cancel the designation of Daewon and Yeonghoon International Middle Schools as specialized middle schools. Previously, the two schools underwent a re-designation evaluation conducted by the education office every five years according to the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. They received less than the benchmark score of 70 points, resulting in a cancellation of their designation. After the hearing and obtaining the Ministry of Education’s consent, they will be converted into general middle schools.

In contrast, all other international middle schools in different regions passed the re-designation evaluation. Cheongshim International Middle School in Gyeonggi and Busan International Middle School have had their specialized middle school status extended until 2026. Seonin Middle School in Gyeongnam, established in 2018, is not subject to evaluation.

This discordant decision by metropolitan and provincial education offices appears different from the situation where foreign language high schools and autonomous private high schools will be collectively abolished in 2025, causing anticipated confusion in the education sector. The Seoul Education Organizations Council will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, urging the cancellation of the international middle schools’ re-designation. The council emphasized, "Since autonomous private high schools and specialized high schools are being abolished, it is logical for international middle schools to be uniformly converted into general middle schools," and insisted, "The cancellation of the international middle schools’ re-designation must be implemented." Earlier, education organizations in Gyeonggi demanded the education office disclose the evaluation results and process regarding the re-designation of Cheongshim International Middle School, stating it would cause significant confusion in implementing the policy to abolish privileged schools.

On the other hand, Daewon and Yeonghoon International Middle Schools plan to file administrative lawsuits and injunctions to suspend the effect, opposing the cancellation of their re-designation. Sung Ki-yoon, vice principal of Yeonghoon International Middle School, pointed out, "In 2015, the evaluation indicators selection committee was held and a public hearing was conducted, but this year the existence of the committee is unclear and there are no meeting minutes." As the competition rate for international middle schools exceeds 10 to 1, voices are also raised questioning whether outright abolition is the right answer amid such demand. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy Haneul Education, said, "One method is to benchmark the excellent systems of these schools and apply them to public education," adding, "A substitute model should be presented in public education following the abolition of international middle schools."

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