Supreme Court: "Choi Seonghae, Former Dongyang University President, Disqualification from School Corporation Executive Position is Lawful"

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Ministry of Education's decision to revoke the qualification of Choi Seong-hae, former president of Dongyang University, as a member of the school foundation's board of directors was lawful.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) on the 18th overturned the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff in the appeal trial of the cancellation lawsuit filed by former President Choi against the Ministry of Education's decision to revoke approval of his appointment as a board member, and remanded the case to the Daejeon High Court.

In 2020, the Ministry of Education issued a disposition canceling the approval of former President Choi's appointment as a board member of the school foundation. Former President Choi was appointed as a board member of the school foundation six times from 1996 to 2019, and he continuously served as president of Dongyang University by being reappointed every four years after his term expired starting in 1994.

Former President Choi's father assumed the position of chairman of the school foundation's board in October 2010 and served until his death in September 2013. The Ministry of Education judged that since a direct ascendant became chairman, under the Private School Act at that time, former President Choi was required to obtain approval from the competent authority with the consent of at least two-thirds of the board members in order to continue serving as president, but he served as president without fulfilling this requirement.

The first trial court ruled against the plaintiff, stating that "the requirement of consent by two-thirds or more of the board members and approval by the competent authority is not only a condition for appointment but also a condition for holding office as president." On the other hand, the second trial court ruled in favor of former President Choi, stating that the procedure for canceling the approval of appointment was illegal.

However, the Supreme Court ruled, "Former President Choi served as president of Dongyang University for a long period without meeting the qualification requirements until his term expired, during which time his father passed away," and added, "It cannot be seen that there is a possibility or effectiveness of correcting the illegal status after the fact."

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