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Private school foundation head investigated for allegedly ordering staff to run personal errands

Published: 20 Oct. 2025, 16:20

A slogan is displayed on the outer wall of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 16. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN OFFICE OF EDUCATION]

The head of a private school foundation in Seoul is under police investigation for allegedly ordering school staff to carry out personal errands, including cleaning up after a pet dog and escorting a grandchild to school.

According to education officials on Monday, a Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education audit confirmed that the foundation’s chair repeatedly instructed employees to handle private matters unrelated to school operations.

The chair allegedly told staff to clean up the dog’s feces and drive their grandchild to and from an elementary school about 20 minutes from the campus. From March last year, employees reportedly took turns using a foundation vehicle to escort the child. The grandchild was also brought along on field trips meant for students.

The audit further found that the chair used the school foundation’s budget to pay personal expenses, including income tax and child care costs for their grandchild.

In addition, the suspect hired their own child at a business operated by the school foundation, even though the employee appeared to have performed no actual work. The education office estimated the amount of misused funds at around 90 million won ($63,400).

The Seoul education office has filed a police complaint accusing the suspect of embezzlement and breach of trust and plans to revoke the chair's appointment as an executive of the foundation.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]