'Dismissed Teacher Preferential Hiring' Jo Hee-yeon First Trial Today "Defendant Appears in Person"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who was indicted on charges of 'unfair special hiring of dismissed teachers,' will be held.

At 10 a.m. on the 15th, the Criminal Division 25-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Park Jeong-je, Park Sa-rang, Park Jeong-gil) will conduct the first trial of Superintendent Cho, who was indicted on charges including abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, and violation of the National Public Service Act. According to the defendant's obligation to appear in formal trials, Superintendent Cho must appear in court in person.

At the previous preparatory hearing, Superintendent Cho's defense attorney stated, "We deny all charges and claim innocence." The implication is that "the hiring itself was lawful and valid."

Superintendent Cho was brought to trial on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights for unfairly allowing the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to specially hire five dismissed teachers, including those from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo), between October and December 2018. Former Chief Secretary Han, who was in charge of the practical work at the time, was also indicted as an accomplice.

The prosecution believes that despite opposition from intermediate approvers, Superintendent Cho unilaterally approved documents related to the special hiring, thereby obstructing the exercise of approval rights by the responsible public officials. They also judged that Han colluded with Superintendent Cho to unfairly select screening committee members and improperly interfered in the overall practical work.

This case was transferred from the police to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in May last year, marking the first investigation case since the CIO's launch. After about four months of investigation, the CIO referred the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment in September last year. The prosecution reached the same conclusion as the CIO and indicted Superintendent Cho without detention on December 24 last year.

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