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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:32 pm Post subject: 'Political' Teachers Face Dismissal for Anti-Lee Statement |
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Eighty-eight teachers will be dismissed or have their licenses suspended for orchestrating the issuance of an anti-Lee Myung-bak statement.
But the group behind the move has vowed to fight for freedom of expression.
The education ministry decided Friday to punish about 17,000 members of the progressive Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union for their joint statement denouncing the Lee Myung-bak administration.
Among them, 10 will be sacked and 78 will see their licenses suspended as well as face a prosecution probe. The number of those to be punished is the highest since the group was formed in 1999.
The government said the group's leaders orchestrated members for ``anti-government actions'' on June 18 in front of Daehan Gate in central Seoul.
``Their anti-Lee action is a disgrace to civil servants. It is a clear violation of civil servants' responsibility to implement governmental policies. Legally, they are prohibited from holding class action and political activities," a government official said.
Chang Ki-won, a top-ranking official at the education ministry, said that the education field should be a ``sacred place ― free from all political ideologies.'' He said the punishments ― mostly warnings and admonition for the rest of the members ― will be issued according to the law.
``I know that there will be some harsh resistance from these `progressive' and `unionized' teachers, but all workers should understand that it is to make people abide by rules,'' he was quoted as saying.
The punishment is expected to affect the movement of other public servant unions planning similar action.
About 130,000 people from the Korean Government Employees Union, the Korea Democracy Government Employees Union and the Korean Court Employees Union were set to express concerns over the rollback of democracy in Korea and demand changes in the key policies of the Lee administration. The statement was to be the first collective action since the three merged in late May.
But, after a warning that participants would face tough punishment, the plan was delayed.
The teachers union countered that the law never bans a public servant from expressing their political opinion.
Spokesman Eum Min-yong, said, ``The leaders will mobilize 400,000 to issue the second anti-Lee statement and file complaints against Education Minister Ahn Byong-man and superintendents for suppressing the freedom of expression.''
Liberal political groups backed the teachers.
``The government's measures are mere retaliation. The teachers, too, have rights to express their political ideas. We will fight to get them back to work too,'' minor New Progressive Party spokesman Kim Jong-chul said.
The group will hold a nationwide leadership meeting Sunday.
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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Good man that Lee Myung-bak.
Hard to feel sorry for a group that between teaching and protesting finds time to send their students out into riots and demonize their foreign colleagues. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Good man that Lee Myung-bak.
Hard to feel sorry for a group that between teaching and protesting finds time to send their students out into riots and demonize their foreign colleagues. |
Indeed. That's one union I have zero sympathy for. The brass should be sent to NK where they can be 'guest teachers' in a socialist paradise of their liking. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:44 am Post subject: |
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| The KTU's socialist? I always thought they were just communist. |
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supernick
Joined: 24 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| This was the same union that help lead the beef protests. Teachers should do their jobs and teach. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:27 am Post subject: |
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There is a legitimate argument to be made in favor of a non-partisan civil service, especially when it comes to people like teachers etc. However, I doubt that LMB's actions in this instance result from any high-minded commitment to sacred principles of bureaucratic neutrality.
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| Chang Ki-won, a top-ranking official at the education ministry, said that the education field should be a ``sacred place ― free from all political ideologies.'' |
Does anyone seriously think that the government will next be demanding that teachers remain completely neutral on the question of who owns the Liancourt Rocks?
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| This was the same union that help lead the beef protests. Teachers should do their jobs and teach. |
It should be noted here that the teachers are not being reprimanded for in-class propaganzizing(which I agree is problematic), but rather for statements that they issued to the public as a union. That might be illegal in Korea, though I am pretty sure it is not in most of our home countries. |
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