Lee Hyuk-je, Jeonnam Provincial Council Member, Strongly Criticizes the Plummeting 'School Trustworthiness'

Lee Hyuk-je, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Lee Hyuk-je, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Council's Education Committee (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 4), strongly criticized the significant decline in students' trust in schools during the administrative audit of the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education on the 4th.

Rep. Lee Hyuk-je pointed out, "The reason why Wando High School students reported the exam paper leak incident to the Jeonnam Police Agency instead of informing the school and the Office of Education was because trust in the school had collapsed," adding, "The cause was the insufficient response by the school and education authorities to two cases of school violence that occurred earlier this year."

He particularly criticized the fact that, at the time of the exam paper leak, the Office of Education dispatched a professional career guidance team to assist the school, but Wando High School refused the support, saying, "Students are anxious, so we will handle it internally."

Rep. Lee emphasized, "Students are not anxious about external personnel coming to the school; rather, they distrust the school more and feel anxious. They would rather have external experts provide their entrance exam guidance."

Meanwhile, concerns were also raised about the insufficient protection of students who reported school corruption at Wando High School and Suncheon Hyochun High School.

Survey Conducted by Suncheon Hyochon High School to Identify Whistleblowers of Exam Paper Leaks

He strongly condemned Suncheon Hyochun High School for conducting a survey to identify the whistleblower of the exam paper leak.

On December 23 of last year, Suncheon Hyochun High School pressured students to respond to the survey by stating, "This is not the school's intention but an instruction from the Jeonnam Office of Education. Failure to respond will raise doubts about your sincerity," in an attempt to find the student who reported the leak to a specific class.

The survey included questions asking for the name and class of the student who distributed the leaked exam paper information.

Rep. Lee Hyuk-je stated, "Jeonnam education has undergone a major crisis, and this nationwide disgraceful corruption incident has damaged the credibility of Jeonnam education," adding, "Since students in Jeonnam facing college entrance exams could be harmed by the exam paper leak, the education authorities need to engage in thorough self-reflection."

In response, Director of Education Wi Kyung-jong said, "The Jeonnam Office of Education did not instruct Suncheon Hyochun High School to conduct the survey," and added, "We will strengthen teachers' duties and training to eliminate corruption related to academic operations and evaluations as much as possible, and take sufficient measures and preparations to prevent recurrence."

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