Daewon International Middle School Received Bribes from Financially Challenged Parents
Posted on : 2013-03-15 17:25
Allegations surfaced that the Seoul Daewon International Middle School received a monthly 500,000 won from financially challenged students. Students were given nicknames related to monetary figures such as "50%" and "70%" according to the discounts they received in their tuition fees, and "50 million" and "100 million" depending on the donations they made to the school.
G, a parent whose child attended Daewon International Middle School in 2009~2011, met with The Kyunghyang Shinmun and said, "I gave a total of 5 million won, 500,000 won every month, to my child's eighth and ninth grade homeroom teachers asking them to look after my child, because the other students bullied him for having enrolled as a financially challenged student.
When it was time to fill out the high school applications, I handed the teacher 1 million won asking the teacher for a favorable letter of recommendation to the Hana Academy Seoul admissions officer."
G added, "The teachers had the students hand out the tuition form, which showed the discount rate, so students were aware of who entered the school as a financially challenged student, and some of the students bullied my child."
G said that the school gave nicknames to the students such as "50%," "70%," "100%," "50 million," and "100 million," and mentioned that talk of money was often heard in the school. The nicknames 50%, 70%, and 100% refer to children who were admitted as financially challenged students and expressed the discount rates they received in their tuition fees, and 50 million and 100 million referred to the amount of money some students donated to the school upon admission.
However, in an investigation by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in January 2012, this case was reduced to that of a 2.5 million won bribe. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "The teacher received money repeatedly and also around the holidays," and urged the school to take firm disciplinary actions (dismissals), but the school lightened the punishment to a 3-month suspension. It has been confirmed that the teacher in question currently teaches at Daewon Foreign Language High School, another school run by the same foundation.
G said, "Whenever the teacher received the money, the teacher said 'I'm only a messenger,' 'I'm only passing this on,' 'There are many eyes in school'." G continued, "This wasn't just a simple bribe," and demanded special inspections.
At the time, the investigation by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education uncovered two violations in the admissions process of Daewon International Middle School in January 2010. The school enrolled a student from a middle school in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, when only students attending middle schools in Seoul were qualified for the international school.
They also accepted a student who had applied through the regular admission process when there was a vacancy for the underprivileged. The investigation also pointed out the fact that the school revised the regulations concerning transfers with only an approval by the school principal and without consulting the school council.
Furthermore, they discovered that a travel agency provided for the 4.1 million won travel expenses including accommodations, meals and airfare for 17 teachers for an overseas field trip in 2010~2011 instead of the school covering the costs with its operating expenses.
Kim Hyeong-tae, a member of the Education Committee at the Seoul Metropolitan Council said, "This proves that economically challenged students are unwelcome intruders at an international middle school. We need a thorough investigation and strict restrictions on actions that deviate from the original purpose of international middle schools."
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한국어 http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201303150600075&code=940401
