[Editorial] An uphill battle against resignation

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon received a sentence in the first trial on his alleged involvement in illicit hiring. He plans to appeal, but the chance of reversing the conviction looks low. The Seoul Central District Court last Friday sentenced Cho to 18 months in jail with a 24-month probation. The bench found him guilty of having “abused his power in hiring a few teachers despite his responsibility for conducting and supervising transparent recruitment procedure.”

Cho’s sentence was foreseeable. He made the first case with the newly established Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in May 2021. The priority of Cho’s case as the first case for the CIO over a plethora of investigations by the prosecution of then presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol succinctly suggests the gravity of Cho’s wrongdoings.

The legal community mostly agreed on his conviction. Cho was accused of rehiring five sacked teachers for union activities after he was reelected as superintendent in 2018. The Board of Audit and Inspection accused him first. Cho was indicted after the case was referred to the CIO. The extraordinary investigation agency was believed to have picked the case first due to sufficient evidence of his wrongdoings.

The court judged that Cho was actively involved in the rehiring upon the request from the progressive Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union. His chief secretary had sent a message to the review board that it was the “thoughts of the superintendent” to embrace them regardless of some concerns. The bench pointed to it as Cho’s “specific and detailed” involvement in “wielding unjust influence over hiring.”

All the five rehired teachers had been dismissed for illegal involvement in elections. One of them ran for the Seoul superintendent position in the 2018 election, but withdrew himself to root for Cho. The rehiring could have been a favor in return.

Despite allegations of abusing vested power, Cho again ran for the office in the 2022 election. He did not repent after the second trial in 2015 over another case barely reversed the first court sentence of a fine of 5 million won ($4,048).

Cho may wish to earn time by going to the Supreme Court. He would be finishing a half of his third four-year term by then. The court must hasten trial procedures. The confusion and waste surely expected from an upcoming by-election should be attributed to Cho and the liberal forces who supported him.

The education chief for Seoul is responsible for 900,000 students. Higher moral integrity and standards are required. How can an education chief accused of irregularities set an example for the future generation?