Suwon Education Office Orders Correction After Kim Seung-won's Wife's Care Center Illegally Uses "School" in Name

It has been confirmed that the regional education support office has conducted an on-site inspection of a welfare facility that has been embroiled in controversy over salary payments to the wife and children of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won.

According to Yonhap News on the 7th, the Lifelong Education and Health Division of the Suwon Office of Education visited the developmental disability care center (online name "Olive School") located at Dongnam Health University in Jangan-gu, Suwon, on the same day to inspect its operational status.

The center is operated by the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, and the nominee's wife serves as the head of the center.

In addition, the nominee's eldest son, who majored in occupational therapy, and his second daughter, who graduated from the department of health and childcare, are working as full-time and part-time employees, respectively.

During the on-site inspection, the Suwon Office of Education pointed out that the center arbitrarily used the name "Olive School" on its online cafe and blog, and instructed it to correct the issue within a week.

However, it was confirmed that the building housing the center did not use the name "school."

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act stipulates that anyone seeking to establish a private school must obtain authorization from the superintendent of education, and violators are subject to imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

During the on-site guidance, the center reportedly responded that it would "make corrections."

In addition, the Suwon Office of Education confirmed that the center was registered as an alternative education institution under the Gyeonggi Province Ordinance on Support for Alternative Education Institutions, and was a facility approved as a social cooperative by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

During the on-site investigation that day, the Suwon Office of Education found that the center did not conduct actual classes like a school, but plans to review the matter in further detail.

Ahead of the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Justice nominee, political circles have raised controversies surrounding allegations that Nominee Kim solicited approval for COVID-19 treatment clinical trials and that his children were hired at the welfare facility where his wife works.

Regarding this, Nominee Kim met with reporters on his way to the office for hearing preparations that morning, directly refuting the controversy by stating, "(My family members) actually performed care duties."

He said, "The People Power Party is misleading the public as if my family is operating the center like a family business, but it is not easy to recruit developmental disability school teachers and caregivers." He added, "This is a place where truly dedicated people come to work, and I hope they do not distort or disparage such a place."

The personnel hearing preparation team for Nominee Kim also explained through a press notice on the afternoon of the same day, "Olive was reported as an alternative education institution to Gyeonggi Province on July 2, 2021." They added, "However, in the process of preparing for this confirmation hearing, we became aware of the fact that, under the Act on Alternative Education Institutions, we must also separately register as an alternative education institution with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education."

They stated, "Although the nominee has not directly been involved in the operation of the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, we will ensure that appropriate registration procedures are carried out promptly in the future."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.