Starting today, July 16, individuals who report unregistered or unreported private academies can receive a reward of up to 2 million won.
The reward for reporting academies that charge fees exceeding the regulated amount or violate permitted teaching hours has also been increased to a maximum of 1 million won.
The Ministry of Education announced that the amendment to the enforcement rules of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons, which includes these measures, was promulgated as of midnight today.
According to the amendment, the reward for reporting academies that operate without registering or filing with the superintendent of education has been expanded from the previous 200,000 won to a maximum of 2 million won.
Furthermore, the reward for reporting cases where academies or tutoring centers charge fees exceeding the amounts displayed, posted, or reported to the superintendent, or where they violate the teaching hours set by the superintendent, has been raised from 100,000 won to a maximum of 1 million won.
The amendment takes effect immediately upon promulgation, and the increased rewards apply only to cases reported on or after today, the effective date.
The Ministry of Education also announced that it has improved the application process for these rewards.
Previously, even if a report was filed through the Illegal Private Education Reporting Center on the Ministry of Education website, a separate written application for the reward had to be submitted.
However, starting in July, it has become possible to apply for the reward at the same time as filing a report.
The Ministry of Education has also reorganized the Illegal Private Education Reporting Center to enhance the convenience of reporting illegal private education activities by the public.
The reporting center, which was previously operated as a separate website, has been integrated into the Ministry of Education website (moe.go.kr) to unify the reporting channels.
In addition, a government-integrated login system has been introduced, allowing users to log in easily using simple authentication methods (such as Naver or Kakao) without having to remember passwords, making it easier to file reports and check the status of submissions.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education also announced the results of a special inspection on academy tuition fees, which has been conducted in collaboration with metropolitan and provincial offices of education since January.
As of the end of June, a total of 5,021 violations were uncovered during inspections of 55,280 academies and tutoring centers nationwide, including 1,286 cases related to tuition fees.
A total of 6,691 administrative actions, including suspension of operations, criminal complaints, and requests for investigations, have been taken.
Choi Eun-ok, Vice Minister of Education, emphasized, "This amendment to the enforcement rules is an inevitable measure to effectively curb illegal activities by some academies, such as overcharging tuition and exceeding teaching hours, by activating the monitoring function of the private sector."
(Photo: Yonhap News)