Gwangju Alternative School Sent to Prosecutors Over Unregistered Operations, Historical Bias Claims

Gwangju's education landscape is facing scrutiny as a religious alternative education institution has been referred to prosecutors for operating as an unregistered private academy. The institution, which catered to young children, is accused of violating the Private Tutoring Business Act by offering both religious and academic instruction without proper registration or oversight from educational authorities.

This development follows a controversy that erupted last year concerning the institution's curriculum. Allegations surfaced that the institution promoted historical distortions, including recommending a film criticized for its portrayal of the Jeju 4.3 incident and assigning a book by a prominent, often polarizing, religious figure to parents. These claims sparked significant debate within the Gwangju education community.

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The police's referral on the grounds of violating the Private Tutoring Business Act officially confirms that this educational facility has been engaged in indiscriminate for-profit educational business outside the legal framework.

Despite the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education's attempts to address the issues through corrective orders, administrative actions, and fines, the institution has contested the decisions, even filing an administrative lawsuit against the cancellation of its registration. The institution has argued that its operational issues stem from a lack of clear legal frameworks and that it teaches a balanced view of historical figures.

However, the recent referral to prosecutors based on the Private Tutoring Business Act, as highlighted by the civic group 'Citizens' Group for a Society Without a Hierarchy of Universities,' signifies a formal acknowledgment of the institution's alleged violation of established laws. The group asserts that this legal finding renders the ongoing administrative lawsuit a futile attempt to delay the inevitable.

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Given that the violation of the law has been significantly proven through the investigative authorities, the ongoing administrative lawsuit is merely a meaningless 'time-killing' effort.