Uri Party Set to Push through Revision of Private Institution Law

The Uri Party said on August 6 that it would pass a revision of the Private Institutional Law at the September session of the National Assembly, allowing a personnel committee to request new hires to the administration of the institution.

“We will decentralize the excessive power of private institutions’ boards of trustees, which control personnel management and secure transparency and fairness in personnel management of teachers,” Rep. Cho Bae-sook and eight other Uri Party lawmakers at the education committee of the assembly said in a press conference at the Uri Party headquarters, where they revealed the amendment.

Under the amendment aimed at forestalling nepotism, relatives of the chair of the board of trustees will be banned from becoming the dean or principal of the institution, and the ceiling of the seats that the relatives can have on the board will be reduced to one-fifth from one-third of the total number of seats.

To strengthen internal audits, the amendment will allow other organizations of the school such as the school administrative committee or the college council to suggest one member of the audit board at the institution.

The amendment will give legal authority to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development to veto the appointment of new regents. The regents whose appointment is vetoed will not be restored to office for 10 years.

Rep. Cho will attempt to revise the education laws on elementary, junior high, high school, and higher education to allow school administrative committees and college councils to review polices such as the establishment and revision of rules, budget accounting, the number of students, and the revision of curricula.

“Since June, we have on many occasions submitted a revision after discussions,” said Rep. Cho. “After consultation with the government and private schools, we will submit the revision to the regular session of the National Assembly.”

“When a person who has nothing with the board of trustees becomes a principal and controls personnel management, he or she may run counter to the founding spirit of the school, causing conflict between the board and the school,” said Rep. Kim Young-sook of the Grand National Party, expressing opposition to the proposal.

“There are fewer than 10 seats on many boards of trustees. If only one-fifth of them are assigned to relatives of the chair, there will be only one trustee who is related to him or her,” said Rep. Kim.

Yong-Gwan Jung Myoung-Gun Lee yongari@donga.com gun43@donga.com