Supreme Court: Appointment of Temporary Directors for Private Elementary and Secondary School Corporations Is a Local Autonomy Matter

The appellate court overturns the original ruling canceling the appointment of Ancheonghakwon temporary director by the Office of Education
"Ordinance delegating the superintendent's appointment authority to the district education chief is lawful"

Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo attended the Supreme Court plenary session held at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd, delivering the verdict on the appeal trial of the lawsuit to cancel the notification of the non-union status for the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (Jeon-gyo-jo). Photo by Supreme Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Supreme Court has ruled that the ordinance delegating the authority to appoint temporary directors, which is held by the Superintendent of Education, to the District Education Officer is lawful, as the appointment of temporary directors for the normalization of private elementary, middle, and high schools or school corporations is an inherent duty of local governments.

The Supreme Court’s Second Division (Presiding Justice Noh Jeong-hee) announced on the 25th that it overturned the lower court ruling in favor of plaintiff A, the grandson of the founder of Ancheong Academy, which operates Ancheong Middle School in Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court. A had filed a lawsuit against the Anseong Office of Education seeking cancellation of the temporary director appointment decision.

The court stated, “The ordinance provision in question, which delegates the authority of the Gyeonggi-do Superintendent of Education to appoint temporary directors of private school corporations operating middle schools to the affiliated District Education Officer, cannot be regarded as exceeding the scope of the ordinance-making authority.”

The court explained, “The Private School Act stipulates that the Minister of Education supervises and oversees private universities and school corporations that establish and operate private universities as the competent authority, while the Superintendent of Education supervises and oversees private elementary, middle, and high schools and school corporations as the competent authority.”

It continued, “Furthermore, the Private School Act provides that when a school corporation fails to fill vacancies on its board of directors, making normal operation difficult, the competent authority shall appoint temporary directors after deliberation by the Private School Dispute Mediation Committee. Thus, the appointment of temporary directors for university corporations is the responsibility of the Minister of Education, while for non-university corporations, it is the responsibility of the Superintendent of Education.”

The court pointed out, “At the time of enactment, the Private School Act stipulated that the Minister of Education (formerly the Minister of Education and Culture) appoint temporary directors of school corporations, but in 2005, the law was amended so that the authority to appoint temporary directors of university corporations belongs to the Minister of Education, and that of non-university corporations belongs to the Superintendent of Education.”

It added, “Although the Private School Act requires the Superintendent of Education to follow the results of deliberation by the Private School Dispute Mediation Committee under the Minister of Education when exercising the authority to appoint temporary directors, this does not mean that the Superintendent’s appointment of temporary directors is a national duty.”

In May 2016, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education conducted an audit of Ancheong Academy, referred A for investigation on charges of embezzlement of school funds, and invalidated the appointment of six directors due to reasons including falsification of meeting minutes.

Subsequently, considering that normal operation of Ancheong Academy was difficult, the Office of Education appointed eight temporary directors in April 2017 after deliberation by the Private School Dispute Mediation Committee.

In response, A filed a lawsuit seeking cancellation of the temporary director appointment, claiming the Office of Education’s decision was illegal.

The trial focused on whether the ordinance delegating the authority to appoint temporary directors to the District Education Officer was lawful, and whether the appointment of temporary directors for private schools is a national duty or an inherent duty of local governments.

The first trial court ruled that the Anseong Office of Education, delegated by the Superintendent of Education, lawfully appointed temporary directors through the Private School Dispute Mediation Committee following the audit results of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, and dismissed the plaintiff’s claim.

However, the appellate court judged that since the Private School Dispute Mediation Committee, which must be involved in appointing temporary directors of private schools, is under the Minister of Education, the appointment of temporary directors is a national duty, and thus canceled the Anseong Office of Education’s appointment decision as requested by A.

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