Prosecution Seeks 2-Year Prison Sentence for Cho Hee-yeon in Appeal Trial Over 'Special Recruitment of Dismissed Teachers' Charges

In the appeal trial of Cho Hee-yeon, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent, who was indicted on charges of unfairly giving special employment to dismissed teachers, the prosecution demanded a two-year prison sentence.

On the 7th, at the sentencing hearing of Superintendent Cho held by the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Woo-soo, Kim Jin-ha, and Lee In-soo), the prosecution requested, "Please impose a sentence commensurate with the crime to ensure that cheating does not prevail."

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, attends a press briefing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 12th, announcing the 'Urban Campus Establishment and Operation Plan.' Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The prosecution stated, "Because Superintendent Cho made special hires, fair competition became impossible, and applicants were deprived of employment opportunities," adding, "The first trial judged that the crime was not for personal gain, but Superintendent Cho also considered political benefits."

In his final statement, Superintendent Cho said, "Did I receive money, or abuse power to appoint close associates?" and added, "This matter is a public issue concerning the reinstatement of dismissed teacher workers."

He continued, "As the current chairman of the Council of City and Provincial Superintendents of Education, I am responsible for one axis of administration," and said, "If the superintendent election has to be held again, the Korean education sector will be swept by another storm."

This was an appeal regarding the situation where, if the suspended sentence of imprisonment handed down in the first trial is confirmed, he would lose his position as superintendent. The Local Education Autonomy Act and the Public Official Election Act stipulate that those sentenced to imprisonment or higher, and whose sentence has not been extinguished, are subject to dismissal. Superintendent Cho was indicted on charges of abusing authority and violating the State Public Officials Act for unfairly giving special employment to five dismissed teachers, including those from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo), between October and December 2018, and was sentenced in the first trial to one year and six months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

The date for the second trial's verdict is scheduled for the 18th of next month.

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