Teachers' Union Opposes 'Comprehensive Public Officials' Asset Registration Policy'

The government has decided to expand the scope of asset registration for public officials to include all civil servants in order to eradicate real estate speculation among public officials.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] The government's stance to expand the scope of asset registration to all public officials in order to eradicate speculation among public servants has faced backlash from teachers' organizations. They criticize that including public officials who do not have access to real estate speculation information in the asset registration target is excessive.

The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) stated on the 31st, "We agree with eradicating real estate speculation triggered by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal, but it is excessive to disclose the assets of not only teachers who have nothing to do with real estate development information or speculation but also all 1.53 million public officials and public institution employees," and demanded, "Immediately withdraw this showy policy that only lowers morale and lacks effectiveness."

The KFTA argued, "Labeling all teachers and public officials as potential criminals only causes frustration and lowers morale, and in a situation where cybercrime is increasing, exposure of personal information can be exploited for crimes." They also raised concerns about "side effects such as infringement of teachers' rights, including reputational damage based on asset levels."

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) also opposed the measure. In a statement, the KTU pointed out, "Look back on how many speculation suspicions have been detected through the asset registration and information disclosure of high-ranking public officials already in place." They further claimed, "The administrative and budget waste will be greater than the effects of implementing the system," and requested the government and ruling party to reconsider the implementation of the system.

Earlier, the government announced a plan to mandate asset registration for "all public officials" to prevent recurrence of such incidents related to real estate speculation allegations involving current and former executives of LH.

Previously, on the 28th, the government, ruling party, and Blue House announced plans to push legislation mandating asset registration for all public officials as part of measures to prevent the LH scandal.

Kim Tae-nyeon, acting leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a party-government meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, "We will raise the level of institutionalization to eradicate speculation by public officials in the April National Assembly. We will add legislation to require all public officials to disclose their assets."

He emphasized, "Even under current law, unfair profits from real estate speculation by public officials are confiscated and this is already underway," but added, "If there are insufficient parts, we clearly state that we will proceed with retroactive legislation for confiscation."

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