Teacher groups demand special audit into death of Icheon whistleblower

Teacher and civic groups are calling for a thorough investigation into the death of a teacher in Icheon, who they say was subjected to systematic retaliation and workplace bullying for exposing corruption. The groups held a press conference at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, demanding a comprehensive special audit of the private school and its foundation.

The teacher, identified only as 'A', was found dead in May. He had reported embezzlement and accounting fraud by the school foundation, which amounted to 3.06 billion won. Following his public disclosure, the school filed a defamation lawsuit against him, and the foundation disciplined and dismissed him.

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We must thoroughly investigate the truth behind the organized retaliation and workplace bullying by the foundation and school that has continued for 10 years through a special audit.

Data released by the office of lawmaker Kim Moon-soo showed that the school's administrative office had illegally withdrawn public funds 581 times, using them for stock and futures trading. A survey conducted by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union (KTU) among private school teachers found that 73.9% feared professional disadvantages when reporting school corruption. Furthermore, 47.9% reported experiencing or witnessing retaliatory disciplinary actions or targeted personnel changes.

"We must thoroughly investigate the truth behind the organized retaliation and workplace bullying by the foundation and school that has continued for 10 years through a special audit," said Heo Won-hee, policy director of the KTU Gyeonggi branch. Jin Soo-young, director of the KTU's True Education Department, added, "We must impose strict penalties on private schools that commit corruption and consider converting schools that have lost their self-regulatory capacity into publicly managed or public schools. Fundamentally, we must move toward amending the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act and the Private School Act."

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We must impose strict penalties on private schools that commit corruption and consider converting schools that have lost their self-regulatory capacity into publicly managed or public schools. Fundamentally, we must move toward amending the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act and the Private School Act.