Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojusucks]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916295

Five principals charged with accepting bribes

February 06, 2010
Five elementary-school principals have been charged with taking bribes from a consignment company which ran after-school tutorial classes in their schools.

The Seoul Southern Prosecutors� Office indicted the principals without physical detention on Wednesday, on charges of receiving bribes from a man surnamed Lee, 58, the head of consignment company A, which ran the after-school classes. Lee was also indicted without detention yesterday.

According to prosecutors, the principals each took a total of around 7 million won ($5,983) to 20 million won in three to 16 separate payments. The payments started in April 2003 and continued into September last year.

�Some of the principals asked for 10,000 won for each student enrolled in the after-school classes,� said an official at the prosecutors� office. Students who enrolled in A�s classes paid an average 100,000 won each, which means the principals pocketed 10 percent of their payments.

Since 2004, the Education Ministry had been pushing to popularize after-school classes as a countermeasure to reduce the country�s dependency on hagwon, or private education institutes. The relatively cheaper cost of the classes proved a useful alternative for students who couldn�t afford to attend hagwon. Under law, schools which decide to have these after-school classes can either operate and manage the classes themselves or find a consignment company to run them.

Prosecutors said that the principals asked for the bribes, threatening Lee that they would choose another company to run the classes or close the after-school programs altogether. In total, Lee handed the five principals a total of 67 million won, all in cash.

To lessen the financial burden of paying the principals, A had to raise its admission and textbook fees. Ultimately, the principals� bribes came out of the students� families� pockets.

�The principals made a unilateral decision to select the consignment company and it appears that the schools� steering committees had no idea what was going on, so they couldn�t protest,� said the official at the prosecutors� office.

According to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, currently around 70,691 students at 268 elementary schools in Seoul attend after-school classes run by consignment companies. The office said that upon receiving investigative reports from the prosecutors, it plans to take serious disciplinary measures against the principals.

Addressing the recent corruption cases in the education sector at a press conference yesterday, Education Minister Ahn Byong-man said, �The education sector should be the most honest field of all, and it�s highly regrettable that due to the recent corruption cases, the public�s distrust of the sector is growing.�

He stressed that he will strengthen supervisory roles for the ministry as well as education offices in other provinces and cities. The ministry said it is planning to change the recruitment system for the inspector general and other high-level inspection division officers in the ministry, and scout people from outside the field, including prosecutors, judges and lawyers, as education supervisors.


By Cho Jae-eun, Kim Jeen-kyung [[email protected]]

[sojusucks]

ONLY 5?

[Forever]

I heard about it on Thursday (because it was printed in many Korean newspapers).

The guy arrested is (name redacted) (President, owner of (name redacted) formerly called (name redacted)).

He has been running the computer and English afternoon classes for at least six (6) years now and of course like all the other Public school afternoon-program companies - they have to "buy" their way into the school through bribes to the principal.

I am happy to hear he finally got caught. (and of course only 5 schools are being investigated - but HIS COMPANY HAS ABOUT 80 SCHOOLS with his English afternoon-program and many more with just the computer afternoon-program)

Anyone who has worked for that company before - may remember "(name redacted)" (the lady who always dressed like a man) - she became upset witth the company and quit that company in August 2009 (after holding a high position in that company for 5 years) and reported everything about the company to the Education office in September 2009.

Based on her statements Prosecutors began investigating all Public schools since September 2009 and because of all the info "(name redacted)" supplied -(name redacted) finally got busted.

However already this week, (name redacted) has now changed its company name and is still in business.

and the other funny thing is (name redacted) has now opened her own Public school afternoon-English programs in the Public schools - doing the exact same thing.


Also (this one hasn't been published in the media yet) - Another company president (and former-principal) (name redacted) (who runs (name redacted)) is also under investigation after one school principal got upset when he didn't "receive his correct amount of money" and reported everything to prosecutors. Don't ask me why the school principal would want to dob himself in - maybe he got some-king-of-immunity by reporting it - but that is now TWO Major companies in "that" industry who are now being investigated.

[Toju]

Now they just need to get onto the 'open and extra bank account' fraud that has been running for several years for the same after school programs. Money might actually start going to the right people.

[conrad2]

Why did it take the authorities so long to catch on to this? I knew about these shenanigans about a week after starting an afterschool job, and that was many years ago. I worked for a small after school company, and of the clients, about half the principals were honest, and the others flat out demanded "donations".

Its sad really. These programs could be great. 1.much cheaper than hokwons 2. kids come 5 days a week as compared to 2 or 3 at hokwon 3. teachers usually have a few years under their belt as opposed to being inexperienced newbies.

[itaewonguy]

[wylies99]

[Bondrock]

I think "name redacted" may have links to the "unknown ethnic person" who was sought in relation to some other (crime not mentioned) last (season withheld) in (non-generic city).

[Forever]

[Sadebugo1]

[wylies99]

[cj1976]

I wonder if one of them was my former principal. He was suddenly 'transferred' out of our school after an anonymous letter from another teacher spilled the beans on his greedy little scams. He was rumoured to be taking under the table payments from various parties, including the AS company at the school, building contractors, and according to my CT certain staff members were bribing their way into positions of authority in the school.
Over to you, apologists.

[Gaber]

Wonder if any of this happens at my school. My principle seems like a sweet reserved old man, I wouldn't imagine him selling out his school like that. Who knows.

[bassexpander]

Bah. These principals will merely be relocated and pardoned.

I have no faith in the "justice" system here. There is no justice unless it's a rich person who has lost money from a poor person.

[wylies99]