Political witch-hunting against unionized teachers

A court ruled to assess fines of 300,000 to 500,000 Won ($269 to $449) to 134 teachers and government employees prosecuted for paying membership dues or giving donations to the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). The sentence stands in considerable contrast to what prosecutors were demanding, which even included jail terms of up to one year. But the question remains as to whether their actions warrant even this level of punishment.

The court delivered not-guilty or dismissal rulings on charges that these teachers and government employees joined a political party. Its reasoning was that in most cases, these charges should never have been pressed in the first case, as the three-year statute of limitations had passed, and that in the other cases the individuals had merely intended to provide support and that there was no evidence to suggest they had rights or duties as party members. The absurdity of the witch-hunt carried out by prosecutors and certain members of the press, who made Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union (KTU, Jeon Gyo Jo) and Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU) officials out to be DLP members, was exposed.

The court did acknowledge that the individuals’ payment of support money constituted a violation of the Political Fund Act and State Public Officials Act. Its position was that the payment violated Article 2 of the Political Fund Act prohibiting the donation of political funds except through methods prescribed by law, and that the individuals also violated their duty of political neutrality through providing financial support.

However, the court took the view that the aggregate amount of their support payments was not large, amounting to no more than 5,000 to 10,000 Won per month. The assessment of fines between 300,000 and 500,000 Won was the result of this determination. At this point, it became clear that it would have been sufficient to handle matters through a summary indictment rather than a formal trial. For a case like this, prosecutors carried out an excessive investigation characterized by actions such as uproarious searches and seizures and hacking into the DLP server. It has of course raised accusations that their intent was always to damage and choke off the DLP and KTU.

This verdict reaffirmed the biased nature of punishment and disciplinary actions. Prosecutors have indicted teachers and government employees who supported the DLP, they have largely sought internal resolutions in cases involving principals and teachers who gave donations to ruling Grand National Party (GNP) lawmakers ranging from the hundreds of thousands of won all the way up to 5 million Won. In so doing, they have presented outrageous explanations about how there was no regulation for their punishment.

In these cases, the prosecution merely went through the motions of investigating, even through evidentiary materials had been presented and the Office of Legislation had delivered an authoritative interpretation finding the actions in violation of the law. The principals and teachers in question had essentially provided political funds and financial support in violation of the law, yet they received no punishment or disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, KTU teachers have already begun to deal with indictments and other hardships such as dismissal, termination, and forced transfers. Even now, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) is openly threatening municipal and provincial offices of education into taking severe disciplinary action, using political weapons such as administrative audits. This is irrational coercion that shows no concern for legitimacy or fairness. Such shameful abuses of authority must come to an end.