Audit Launched into Allegations of Power Abuse and Embezzlement by Family of Private High School Founder

A private high school in Muan, Jeonnam. Allegations of abuse of power and scholarship embezzlement have been raised, prompting the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education to initiate an audit.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education has launched an audit after allegations of abuse of power by the founder's family and embezzlement of scholarship funds surfaced at a private high school in Muan, Jeonnam.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education on the 24th, the office has begun a comprehensive audit based on suspicions of abuse of power by the founder and embezzlement of scholarship funds at the school.

Prior to the regular comprehensive audit, preliminary complaints regarding abuse of power and scholarship foundation suspicions have been received through petitions and the National Sinmungo system.

In particular, an employee identified as A claims that at the request of the founder's family, they were forced to perform personal tasks such as slaughtering chickens, driving the family to and from work, and running errands, escalating the controversy.

A stated, "During my 30 years of service, I took on all kinds of difficult tasks without any performance bonuses," adding, "I feel sorry for the hardworking staff. I hope the culture of abuse by the founder's family disappears."

However, other employees, excluding A, have either outright denied the abuse allegations or avoided responding.

The school has experienced ongoing internal strife due to conflicts between the founder's son and daughter. In 2014, the son, who served as principal, was demoted to a teacher position following conflicts with the founder.

Since then, the son has continuously raised complaints against the school and reportedly submitted a written report after verbally abusing students during class. He also caused controversy by throwing shoes at his sister, the administrative director, and verbally abusing her in front of staff.

A school staff member said, "The abuse was worse when the son was principal," adding, "The school stabilized and the atmosphere improved after the daughter became the administrative director."

They continued, "Despite the poor conditions, teachers care for students like their own children, forming strong bonds," and expressed concern that "this incident might harm both staff and students."

Meanwhile, the Provincial Office of Education plans to investigate allegations that gifts were sent to external figures through staff during holidays, as well as review the scholarship foundation's accounting.

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