Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul Superintendent of Education, Counter-Sued by Parents Over 'Mass Malicious Complaints'

Counter-suit for False Accusation Following Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Complaint

A parent who was reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for filing a series of malicious complaints has recently filed a defamation lawsuit against Cho Hee-yeon, the Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 29th that it received a notification on the 24th from the Suseo Police Station in Seoul regarding the commencement of an investigation into the defamation lawsuit.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, parent A spread false information about the principal and vice principal of the school in a local community after their child, who was elected as the vice president of the student council in February last year, had their election canceled due to violations of election rules and guidelines.

Subsequently, the parent filed seven lawsuits and complaints against the school, requested eight administrative appeals, made over 300 information disclosure requests in 29 instances, and filed 24 complaints through the National Ombudsman against the education support office.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is speaking at the first meeting of the four-party consultative body consisting of ruling and opposition parties, government, and metropolitan and provincial superintendents of education to support legislation for the restoration and protection of teachers' rights held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In response, the school requested the School Authority Protection Committee in August last year to file a complaint at the education office level, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education filed a complaint against the parent at the Seoul Seongdong Police Station in November, following the school's request.

Afterward, A filed a lawsuit against Superintendent Cho, and the case was transferred to the Seongdong Police Station after the Suseo Police Station notified the commencement of the investigation this month.

However, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that it has not yet received the investigation results from the Seongdong Police Station.

Superintendent Cho stated, "The harassment by the malicious complainant parent, which has continued since last year, is still ongoing, and the situation has escalated to lawsuits indiscriminately targeting not only teachers but others as well. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will actively clarify this lawsuit to prove that the contents of the Office’s complaint are not false."

[Correction and Rebuttal Report] Regarding the article ‘Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Counter-sued by Parent Filing a Series of Malicious Complaints’

Our newspaper previously reported on May 29 under the title ‘Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Counter-sued by Parent Filing a Series of Malicious Complaints’ that a parent who filed a series of malicious complaints had sued Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon for defamation.

However, upon fact-checking, it was revealed that the person reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on November 28, 2023, was not the parent but the child, meaning that the person who sued Superintendent Cho for defamation was the child.

The parent informed us, "In February 2023, my child was elected as the vice president of the student council, and despite fully complying with the election rules and guidelines, a postponement of the announcement was made, followed by a decision to leave the position vacant, and the school forced the nullification of the election. I filed complaints to verify the facts. Furthermore, contrary to the reports as of August 2023, I filed one defamation complaint against the principal, four administrative appeals, 14 information disclosure requests (covering 178 items), and nine complaints through the National Ombudsman. The child was re-elected through a re-election in March 2023," the parent stated.

This report is based on the mediation by the Press Arbitration Commission and the agreement between both parties.

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