'Dismissed Teacher Preferential Hiring' Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon First Trial Next Month

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education / Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The first trial procedure for Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon, who was indicted on suspicion of preferential hiring of dismissed teachers, will take place next month.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the Criminal Division 25-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je) has scheduled the first preparatory hearing for Superintendent Cho and others, who were indicted without detention on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, for the 9th of next month. Unlike a formal trial, the preparatory hearing does not require the defendant's attendance, so it is uncertain whether Superintendent Cho and others will appear in court in person. The court is expected to organize the positions of both sides and the plan for future proceedings on that day.

Earlier, Superintendent Cho was indicted without detention on charges of ordering a special hiring in 2018 for five dismissed teachers, forcibly proceeding with an unfair hiring process excluding the vice superintendent and staff who opposed it on the grounds that it violated the principle of open competition. The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gongsoocheo) launched an investigation into this case as its first 'Public Case No. 1' after its establishment, and in September requested the prosecution to file charges, recognizing the allegations. The prosecution, which took over the baton, reached the same conclusion as Gongsoocheo on the 24th of last month and sent them to trial.

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