'3-term Seoul Superintendent of Education' Cho Hee-yeon to Attend 3rd Trial Tomorrow on Unfair Hiring Charges

In the Seoul Superintendent of Education election held simultaneously nationwide, Cho Hee-yeon, who was running for a third term, is seen celebrating with supporters in the early morning of the 2nd at the candidate's office in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, as his victory became certain.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Jo Hee-yeon, the superintendent of education who was elected for the third term in Seoul after the introduction of direct elections, will appear in court on the 3rd as a defendant in the trial on charges of 'unfair special hiring of dismissed teachers.'

According to the court on the 2nd, the Criminal Division 25-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Park Jeong-je, Park Sa-rang, Park Jeong-gil) will hold the third trial of Superintendent Jo, who was indicted on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of exercise of rights, and violation of the National Public Service Act, at 10 a.m. on the 3rd.

The last time Superintendent Jo appeared in court was on April 22. Considering Superintendent Jo’s schedule for registering as a preliminary candidate and election campaigning for his third term challenge, the court did not proceed with the trial for the entire month of May. In the previous trial, a scholarship officer who handled the case was called as a witness. Witness examinations of related parties will continue in the trials held on the 3rd and 22nd of this month.

Superintendent Jo’s side claims innocence, stating that "the hiring itself was lawful and valid." On April 15, the day of the first trial, Superintendent Jo met with reporters in front of the court and said, "I believe the staff properly followed the open competitive selection procedures," adding, "I will thoroughly explain my innocence in court." He also added, "I want to emphasize that the special hiring is meaningful as a social justice realization and reconciliation measure to embrace those who are suffering."

Previously, Superintendent Jo was brought to trial on charges of abuse of authority for giving improper instructions to the responsible public officials to specially hire five dismissed teachers from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo), who were confirmed guilty of violating election laws from October to December 2018. He is also accused of conducting the hiring process under the guise of an open competitive exam while pre-selecting these individuals, and of instructing some examiners to give high scores to specific persons, which violates the National Public Service Act. If a sentence of imprisonment or higher is confirmed, Superintendent Jo must resign from his position. Han Mo, the former secretary general who handled the practical work at the time, was also indicted as an accomplice.

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 after the CIO’s establishment. After about four months of investigation, the CIO referred the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment, and the prosecution reached the same conclusion, indicting Superintendent Jo without detention at the end of the same year.

Meanwhile, during his first election campaign in 2014, Superintendent Jo was also indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act by raising suspicions about another candidate’s possession of a U.S. green card. However, in 2016, the Supreme Court confirmed a suspended sentence with a fine of 2.5 million won, allowing him to retain his position as superintendent. A suspended sentence is a system that postpones sentencing for a certain period for defendants with minor offenses, and if no particular incident occurs during that period, the sentence is waived.

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