Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Requests Severe Disciplinary Action Against High School Vice Principal for Abuse of Power

A girls' high school in Suncheon involved in a power abuse controversy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 22nd that it has requested severe disciplinary action against a vice principal who committed power abuse against teachers.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, an audit was conducted against a vice principal at a girls' high school in Suncheon who was suspected of various abuses of power. As a result, the abuse was confirmed, and severe disciplinary action against the vice principal was requested to the school foundation.

Earlier, on the 1st, the Citizens' Group for a Society Without Academic Elitism urged the Office of Education to conduct an audit, stating, "Vice Principal A repeatedly engaged in power abuse, including sexual harassment of female teachers, disparaging teachers' parents' appearances, violating educational rights, and falsely reporting COVID-19 self-quarantine."

The Citizens' Group for a Society Without Academic Elitism claimed, "The cases of power abuse committed by Vice Principal A are beyond imagination," adding, "He prohibited a science teacher from using the science lab, monitored teachers through other staff members, infringing on educational rights. He also gave unfair tasks such as ordering teachers to remove window tape during class."

Teacher B, who claims to be a victim, stated, "Vice Principal A committed all kinds of power abuse, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault since his time as head of the academic affairs department." On the other hand, Vice Principal A denied the allegations, saying, "There was no power abuse, and the claims of sexual harassment and assault are not true."

An anonymous staff member lamented, "The oldest school in Suncheon has turned into a muddy battleground due to internal factional fights between the principal and vice principal," adding, "Teachers are also divided and confront each other, so ultimately only innocent students are suffering."

Accordingly, the Office of Education conducted two rounds of audits on the 16th and 25th of last month, confirming Vice Principal A's power abuse and requesting severe disciplinary action to the school foundation.

An official from the Office of Education said, "We requested severe disciplinary action against the vice principal to the foundation's board of directors, but due to the nature of private schools, there is no legal basis to bring this within the formal system. Disciplinary measures are the authority of the board," adding, "We hope the board will handle this issue strictly so that students do not suffer."

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