Public Inquiry on Whether Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul Superintendent of Education, Violated the Public Official Election Act

People Power Party of Seoul Metropolitan Council publicly questions whether Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon violated the Public Official Election Act

Urges strict response from Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission and Ministry of Education

The People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Representative Assemblyman Choi Ho-jung) stated that a post shared by Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon on his blog (July 6, 2023) violates the Public Official Election Act and the Local Public Officials Act, which regulate the political neutrality of public officials.

They sent a public inquiry letter to the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission and the Ministry of Education, which has supervisory authority over the Superintendent of Education, demanding on the 28th that if any legal violations are found, immediate and strict measures be taken.

Choi Hojung, Floor Leader

The People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council had tried to refrain from legal action regarding Superintendent Cho’s conduct, considering his responsibility for the education of Seoul’s students.

However, seeing that the Superintendent, who is currently undergoing a criminal trial, is openly engaging in actions that could cause legal controversy without restraint, they decided that they could no longer overlook this and took action.

Below is the content of Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon’s blog post (July 6, 2023).

“118 education, climate environment, labor, civic, and social organizations condemned the passage of the 'Ordinance on the Activation and Support of Ecological Transition Education by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education' repeal bill and requested its withdrawal.

They also sent a statement saying, ‘So that precious practices for a sustainable future are no longer trampled upon, we urge the Seoul Superintendent of Education, with the authority granted by citizens, to immediately reconsider the repeal of the ordinance!’

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is currently reviewing a request for reconsideration regarding the council’s repeal of the ordinance.

We thank the education, climate environment, labor, civic, and social organizations that have shown interest in the activation of ecological transition education by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and I will also do my best.

Here is the opinion of the 118 organizations.”

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[Press Conference Statement]

We condemn the People Power Party members of the Seoul Metropolitan Council who even use ‘ecological transition education’ as a tool for political strife.

We condemn the submission and passage of the repeal bill for the ‘Ordinance on the Activation and Support of Ecological Transition Education by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’!

On June 28, 118 organizations including education, climate environment, labor, and civic society groups in Seoul held an emergency press conference to strongly condemn the repeal bill proposed by 53 People Power Party council members (chief proposer Choi Yoo-hee) to abolish the [Ordinance on the Activation and Support of Ecological Transition Education by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education] and demanded its withdrawal.

This ordinance was enacted in 2021 after three years of discussions by youth, civic society organizations, and educational stakeholders. However, today it is being repealed without a single forum or public hearing. The ordinance ▲ defines ‘ecological transition education’ based on the Framework Act on Education and the Environmental Education Act as pursuing a comprehensive transition from individual behavior patterns to organizational culture and systems, enriching the content of ecological transition education needed in the climate crisis era; ▲ establishes an ecological transition education committee to formulate and implement mid- to long-term plans for ecological transition education by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education; ▲ provides grounds for creating funds necessary for ecological transition education and for establishing a dedicated department for ecological transition education projects; ▲ establishes an ecological transition education center to systematically support programs, materials, and training necessary for ecological transition education.

This ordinance regulates the responsibilities of educational institutions in the climate crisis era and is indispensable. It should be expanded nationwide, and it is urgent to push for legislation beyond the ordinance.

However, the environmental education support ordinance proposed to replace this ordinance is a regression to the 2018 ordinance. Its contents quickly reveal that the level and capability of the People Power Party council members are insufficient to represent Seoul citizens and future generations. On the other hand, teachers! Is the only thing our schools should do in the climate crisis era just promoting waste separation and avoiding single-use products?

At the beginning of the year, the Seoul Metropolitan Council cut the entire budget related to ecological transition education, including ecological transition education, food ecological transition education, and ecological transition funds of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and repealed the school garden ordinance last session. They shook the education community with ordinances on sexual norms for school members allowing sexual relations only for legally married couples, the repeal bill of the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance, and the basic academic ability support ordinance forcing disclosure of grades. Now, facing the climate crisis, the People Power Party Seoul Metropolitan Council intends to abolish the ecological transition education support ordinance! We can no longer watch this outrage with open eyes.

The responsibility of the older generation before the climate crisis is heavier than ever. Especially, what more needs to be said about council members elected to represent citizens! What the Seoul Metropolitan Council should do immediately is not to repeal the ordinance but to adopt a resolution to stop the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water, provide more support so schools can rapidly transition to a carbon-neutral system as a model, and reform administrative systems and institutions so this can expand to communities.

The repeal of the ‘Seoul Ecological Transition Education Support Ordinance’ without any legitimacy is an unforgivable crime in history. As we warned on the 28th, today’s repeal marks the political bankruptcy of the People Power Party council members. We will inform and firmly remember this criminal act with 9.5 million Seoul citizens and 880,000 Seoul students.

We also request the Seoul Superintendent of Education: so that precious practices for a sustainable future are no longer trampled upon, with the authority granted by citizens, immediately reconsider the repeal of the ordinance!

July 5, 2023

All members of Seoul education/climate environment/labor/civic/social organizations

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Below is the content of the public inquiry letter sent by the People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council to the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission and the Ministry of Education.

1. We wish the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission continued success.

2. Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education and a local public official of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, posted on his blog on July 6, 2023, a post titled ‘Request to Withdraw the Repeal Bill of the Ordinance on the Activation of Ecological Transition Education by Social Organizations.’

3. In this post, Superintendent Cho expressed gratitude to “118 education, climate environment, labor, civic, and social organizations” and shared their press conference statement.

4. The press conference statement contains expressions such as that People Power Party members of the Seoul Metropolitan Council are “insufficient in level and ability to represent Seoul citizens and future generations” and that the People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council committed “an unforgivable crime in history.”

5. This can be interpreted as Superintendent Cho agreeing with the indiscriminate criticism of a specific political party by directly posting such content.

6. According to the ‘Examples of Violations of the Public Official Election Act in Public Officials’ SNS Activities’ distributed by the Ministry of Personnel Management in March 2020, acts such as directly posting support or opposition to a specific political party on SNS, which has a wide-reaching impact, are cited as violations.

7. Given that sufficient guidance on related laws has been provided, and considering that unlike local government heads, local public officials like the Superintendent are prohibited from holding party membership and are required to maintain a higher level of political neutrality, and given the Superintendent’s significant legal compliance responsibilities, a more rigorous investigation is necessary.

8. Therefore, the People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Representative Assemblyman Choi Ho-jung) requests your agency to promptly investigate and determine whether Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon’s actions violate the obligation of political neutrality of public officials under Article 9 of the Public Official Election Act, the prohibition of political activities under Article 57 of the Local Public Officials Act, and the prohibition of political acts under Article 9 of the Local Public Officials Service Regulations. End.

1. We wish the Ministry of Education continued success.

2. Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education and a local public official of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, posted on his blog on July 6, 2023, a post titled ‘Request to Withdraw the Repeal Bill of the Ordinance on the Activation of Ecological Transition Education by Social Organizations.’

3. In this post, Superintendent Cho expressed gratitude to “118 education, climate environment, labor, civic, and social organizations” and shared their press conference statement.

4. The press conference statement contains expressions such as that People Power Party members of the Seoul Metropolitan Council are “insufficient in level and ability to represent Seoul citizens and future generations” and that the People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council committed “an unforgivable crime in history.”

5. This can be interpreted as Superintendent Cho agreeing with the indiscriminate criticism of a specific political party by directly posting such content.

6. According to the ‘Examples of Violations of the Public Official Election Act in Public Officials’ SNS Activities’ distributed by the Ministry of Personnel Management in March 2020, acts such as directly posting support or opposition to a specific political party on SNS, which has a wide-reaching impact, are cited as violations.

7. Given that sufficient guidance on related laws has been provided, and considering that unlike local government heads, local public officials like the Superintendent are prohibited from holding party membership and are required to maintain a higher level of political neutrality, and given the Superintendent’s significant legal compliance responsibilities, a more rigorous investigation is necessary.

8. Therefore, the People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Representative Assemblyman Choi Ho-jung) requests your agency to promptly investigate and determine whether Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon’s actions violate the obligation of political neutrality of public officials under Article 9 of the Public Official Election Act, the prohibition of political activities under Article 57 of the Local Public Officials Act, and the prohibition of political acts under Article 9 of the Local Public Officials Service Regulations. End.

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