Seoul education chief given suspended sentence for hiring scandal

Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, talks to reporters at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Friday. [NEWS1]

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon was given a suspended prison sentence Friday for abusing the power of his office to internally appoint and re-employ sacked teachers.

The punishment is heavy enough that Cho must step down from office once his conviction is confirmed, as any education official given a prison sentence is required to do.

If he appeals, Cho can remain in office until he receives a final verdict from a higher court. He will lose his job if his conviction is upheld by the higher court.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Cho to one year and six months of prison, suspended for two years, for malfeasance in office, abuse of power and violating the State Public Officials Act.

“Cho abused his power in hiring teachers despite having the responsibility for conducting and supervising fair and transparent recruitment procedures,” the court said.

“He has damaged the transparency and fairness of the hiring process at Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.”

Cho was indicted in December 2021 on charges of re-hiring five teachers, including four members of a teacher’s labor union, right after he was re-elected in 2018.

One of the five teachers ran as a primary candidate in the same election Cho ran in and later helped him with his election campaign.

Cho began his term as Seoul's education chief in 2014 and extended his term for a third time last year. His term of office ends in June 2026.

“I will immediately appeal the court’s ruling and try my best to correct the disappointing result,” Cho told reporters on Friday.

Prosecutors had requested two years of imprisonment for Cho last month after concluding that he internally appointed candidates and interfered in the recruitment process.

Cho has been denying the allegations against him.

“I believe the officials who were involved in the hiring process followed open recruitment procedures well,” he said, stressing the hiring was done by law and that he did not unfairly intervene in the process.

According to the court, Cho's former chief secretary Han Man-jung, who was involved in the hiring process at Cho's request, selected people he personally knew as interviewers for the hiring process. The five candidates were given high scores.

Han was given a suspended sentence of 10 months in prison

Friday's ruling comes after a year and 8 months after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) kicked off an investigation in May 2021.

The CIO was established by the Democratic Party and the Moon administration to weaken the power of the state prosecution service, which they believed to be politically biased.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, LEE SU-MIN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]