Teachers outed online in ongoing union tussle
Published: 20 Apr. 2010, 23:14
A pitched battle between a left-wing teachers’ union and the ruling party reached a climax on Monday when Grand National Party lawmaker Cho Jeon-hyeok disclosed the names of more than 60,000 of its members on the Internet.
On Monday afternoon, Cho posted the identities of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union members on his home page (www.educho.com). The teachers’ names, schools, the subjects they teach and the unions they are members of, were disclosed.
Teachers and civil servants in Korea aren’t allowed to participate in collective political activities, but the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union has been accused of holding anti-government protests and been found by the police to have been involved in activities with the opposition Democratic Labor Party. These actions angered the ruling party.
Parents of schoolchildren have also become alarmed at what they perceive as leftist politics in the school system.
Cho also posted the names of 160,000 members of the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, the largest group in the country, which is considered to have little political leaning. Cho’s action defies a court ruling last week in which the Seoul Southern District Court ruled in favor of a union injunction requesting their identities be kept private.
That ruling contradicted an earlier verdict last month by the Seoul Central District Court, which dismissed a request by Education Minister Ahn Byong-man to protect the union members’ privacy. After the ruling, the Education Ministry sent a list of the members’ names to the National Assembly.
After posting the teachers’ names, Cho, who is also a member of the National Assembly’s Education, Science and Technology Committee, said at a press conference: “After numerous consultations with legal experts, I concluded there is no problem in revealing [the union members’] identities. For proper education reform, parents’ participation is crucial, and to achieve this, all information must be revealed in a transparent, correct way.”
Parents and students nationwide tried viewing the lists online. Cho’s home page crashed most of yesterday because of the surge in page views. Cho said during a radio interview yesterday that even though he changed the server to accommodate more people, it was still down.
Lee, 41, a mother of a third-year middle school student said, “I will continue to look out for any teachers who are involved in progressive unions, including the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union.”
Kim, 49, the mother of a freshman in high school said, “I was always curious about whether my child’s teachers are involved in teachers’ unions because I think the political views of teachers influence children greatly.”
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union expressed rage, saying Cho’s posting was an “illegal act that ignored the court’s decision full-on.”
The union held a press conference yesterday in Seoul and released a statement saying, “The GNP has violated the individual rights of our members for their political goals upon revealing the list.”
“Even if teachers are civil servants,” it said, “our basic human rights have to be protected by law.”
The union said it is looking into criminal charges against Cho and asking for compensation.
Teachers who were revealed as union members were also outraged.
“I have no clue why we are being treated as members of an anti-government group when we are only members of a teachers’ union,” said Choi, a teacher who said that he was a member of the union.
“My right to personal privacy has been severely violated. There has to be a lawful countermeasure [for Cho],” said Jang, a teacher at a high school in Yangcheon District, Seoul, and a member of the union.
Last year, the teachers’ union held an anti-government protest. In February, police said that 120 union members and Korean Government Employees’ Union members registered as members on the Democratic Labor Party’s Web site. This month, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office summoned three high-level executives from the teachers’ union for questioning on alleged illegal contributions to the DLP. Police alleged that 286 members from both unions transferred 58 million won ($52,000) to an unregistered DLP bank account. Um Min-yong, spokesman for the union, said the money was to be used for members’ lawsuits.
By Cho Jae-eun, Park Su-ryon [[email protected]]
On Monday afternoon, Cho posted the identities of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union members on his home page (www.educho.com). The teachers’ names, schools, the subjects they teach and the unions they are members of, were disclosed.
Teachers and civil servants in Korea aren’t allowed to participate in collective political activities, but the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union has been accused of holding anti-government protests and been found by the police to have been involved in activities with the opposition Democratic Labor Party. These actions angered the ruling party.
Parents of schoolchildren have also become alarmed at what they perceive as leftist politics in the school system.
Cho also posted the names of 160,000 members of the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, the largest group in the country, which is considered to have little political leaning. Cho’s action defies a court ruling last week in which the Seoul Southern District Court ruled in favor of a union injunction requesting their identities be kept private.
That ruling contradicted an earlier verdict last month by the Seoul Central District Court, which dismissed a request by Education Minister Ahn Byong-man to protect the union members’ privacy. After the ruling, the Education Ministry sent a list of the members’ names to the National Assembly.
After posting the teachers’ names, Cho, who is also a member of the National Assembly’s Education, Science and Technology Committee, said at a press conference: “After numerous consultations with legal experts, I concluded there is no problem in revealing [the union members’] identities. For proper education reform, parents’ participation is crucial, and to achieve this, all information must be revealed in a transparent, correct way.”
Parents and students nationwide tried viewing the lists online. Cho’s home page crashed most of yesterday because of the surge in page views. Cho said during a radio interview yesterday that even though he changed the server to accommodate more people, it was still down.
Lee, 41, a mother of a third-year middle school student said, “I will continue to look out for any teachers who are involved in progressive unions, including the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union.”
Kim, 49, the mother of a freshman in high school said, “I was always curious about whether my child’s teachers are involved in teachers’ unions because I think the political views of teachers influence children greatly.”
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union expressed rage, saying Cho’s posting was an “illegal act that ignored the court’s decision full-on.”
The union held a press conference yesterday in Seoul and released a statement saying, “The GNP has violated the individual rights of our members for their political goals upon revealing the list.”
“Even if teachers are civil servants,” it said, “our basic human rights have to be protected by law.”
The union said it is looking into criminal charges against Cho and asking for compensation.
Teachers who were revealed as union members were also outraged.
“I have no clue why we are being treated as members of an anti-government group when we are only members of a teachers’ union,” said Choi, a teacher who said that he was a member of the union.
“My right to personal privacy has been severely violated. There has to be a lawful countermeasure [for Cho],” said Jang, a teacher at a high school in Yangcheon District, Seoul, and a member of the union.
Last year, the teachers’ union held an anti-government protest. In February, police said that 120 union members and Korean Government Employees’ Union members registered as members on the Democratic Labor Party’s Web site. This month, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office summoned three high-level executives from the teachers’ union for questioning on alleged illegal contributions to the DLP. Police alleged that 286 members from both unions transferred 58 million won ($52,000) to an unregistered DLP bank account. Um Min-yong, spokesman for the union, said the money was to be used for members’ lawsuits.
By Cho Jae-eun, Park Su-ryon [[email protected]]
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『전교조 없는 세상에서 살고 싶다』.
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19일 교원단체 가입교사 명단을 공개한 조 의원은 그동안 전교조에 뚜렷한 비판적 목소리를 내왔다. 전교조가 자신을 상대로 법적 대응에 나선다는 소식이 전해진 20일에도 그는 “헌법상 학생·학부모의 알 권리는 모든 권리를 지배하는 원천적 권리”라고 말했다
한글 기사 보기
2006년 학력공개 소송 내 첫 악연, 2년 전 수능정보 공개로 고발당해
『전교조 없는 세상에서 살고 싶다』.
조전혁 한나라당 의원이 인천대 경제학과 교수로 재직하던 2006년 공저한 책의 제목이다. 그 무렵 조 의원은 ‘討全敎組檄文(토전교조격문)’ ‘전교조, 학생 볼모로 정치게임하나’ ‘전교조의 교원평가 반대 투쟁에 부쳐’란 제목의 칼럼을 일간지에 기고했다.
19일 교원단체 가입교사 명단을 공개한 조 의원은 그동안 전교조에 뚜렷한 비판적 목소리를 내왔다. 전교조가 자신을 상대로 법적 대응에 나선다는 소식이 전해진 20일에도 그는 “헌법상 학생·학부모의 알 권리는 모든 권리를 지배하는 원천적 권리”라고 말했다
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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