'Seoicho Incident' National Assembly Current Issues Inquiry on 28th... Cho Hee-yeon, Who Previously Announced 'Absence', Decides to Attend

Disagreement Between Ruling and Opposition Parties and Education Office Over Cho Hee-yeon's Attendance
"Questions Should Be Asked After Fact-Finding of the Incident"

Regarding the 'Seoi Elementary School Teacher Death Incident,' the National Assembly has decided to hold a full meeting of the Education Committee on the 28th to conduct urgent inquiries. Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, initially expressed his intention to be absent, citing ongoing fact-finding efforts, but later, after discussions with the National Assembly, it was reported that he decided to attend.

According to the Education Committee on the 27th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, Superintendent Cho, and Ham Hye-seong, Director of the Gangnam-Seocho Education Support Office, are expected to attend the full committee meeting scheduled for the afternoon of the following day. Given the high social interest in protecting teachers' rights, it is anticipated that standing committee members will focus their urgent inquiries on the 'Seoi Elementary School Incident' and the 'Seoul Yangcheon-gu Teacher Assault Incident' during the meeting.

It is understood that there were disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties and related ministries regarding Superintendent Cho's attendance. Deputy Prime Minister Lee had announced on the 24th that he would attend the full meeting, but Superintendent Cho had been withholding his decision to attend. The reason was that it would be difficult to provide proper answers without a fact-finding investigation of the incident itself. On the 25th, a Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education official stated, "We (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) find it difficult to attend," adding, "We can only provide explanations once the investigation results on the incident's facts are available."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party strongly demanded the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Lee and Superintendent Cho, but the Democratic Party of Korea opposed the necessity of Superintendent Cho's attendance. There were also concerns that if inquiries proceeded without fact-finding, it could lead to political disputes. An opposition member of the Education Committee said, "The investigation results regarding the Seoi Elementary School incident have not yet been released," adding, "It is appropriate to discuss once the cause of death is clarified." He further explained, "In the current situation, suddenly bringing up the Student Human Rights Ordinance inevitably leads to political disputes," and "Teachers would rather be disappointed."

Subsequently, after discussions between the ruling and opposition party secretaries of the Education Committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education until the 26th, it was reported that Superintendent Cho decided to attend the full meeting. However, the principal of Seoi Elementary School, who was previously requested to attend by the Education Committee, was unable to attend due to psychological instability and other reasons.

Currently, the Seocho Police Station is investigating all teachers at Seoi Elementary School and parents suspected of 'gapjil' (abuse of power) related to the incident. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has also begun its own inquiry by interviewing the bereaved family and others.

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