The Corruption Investigation Office summons Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon as a suspect on the 27th over 'preferential hiring' allegations... Superintendent Cho to make a statement tomorrow

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Cho Hee-yeon, the Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who is suspected of ‘unfair special hiring of dismissed teachers,’ will be summoned and investigated by the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Division (PCC) on the 27th.

The PCC announced on the 26th that Superintendent Cho will be summoned as a suspect at 9 a.m. on the 27th for investigation.

Superintendent Cho is accused of instructing the review and promotion of a plan to specially hire five dismissed teachers as educational officials in July-August 2018, on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

At that time, when Superintendent Cho received opposing opinions from the person in charge, he instructed Mr. A from the Superintendent’s Secretariat to proceed with the special hiring. Mr. A selected lawyers and others he knew as screening committee members, differing from the existing selection method, and selected the dismissed teachers recommended by Superintendent Cho, who were then specially hired in January of the following year.

However, it was revealed that four of the five specially hired teachers were retired teachers affiliated with the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo) who had been prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act during the 2008 Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education election, received a final guilty verdict from the Supreme Court, and were dismissed accordingly. The remaining one was also a teacher who was fined and dismissed for posting comments opposing a specific candidate during the 2002 presidential election, sparking controversy over ‘protecting a specific union.’

Earlier, the Board of Audit and Inspection confirmed these misconducts by Superintendent Cho through an audit, reported him to the police for violating the National Public Officials Act, and provided related misconduct as reference materials for the PCC’s investigation. Subsequently, at the PCC’s request, the police transferred the case to the PCC, which has been investigating Superintendent Cho’s case as its ‘No. 1 case.’

Previously, on May 18, the PCC’s Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seong-moon) conducted a search and seizure at the Superintendent’s Office on the 9th floor of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, securing documents and computer-stored data related to the teacher hiring process in 2018.

Lee Jae-hwa, a lawyer from Jinsung Law Firm representing Superintendent Cho, stated, "The PCC will summon Superintendent Cho at 9 a.m. tomorrow to investigate him on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights related to the special hiring conducted in 2018," adding, "Superintendent Cho plans to express his position on the PCC investigation at 8:50 a.m. tomorrow in front of the PCC entrance."

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