S. Korean gov't files complaint against superintendents over teachers' union
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government filed a complaint against eight out of 17 education superintendents in the country Wednesday claiming they neglected their duties by not dismissing members of an illegitimate progressive teachers' union who did not return to school.
The Ministry of Education said it filed the complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, seeking investigation over the top educators of cities and provinces including Seoul, Busan and Gwangju.
The ministry has been demanding 83 full-time staff members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) to return to their teaching jobs at schools after an appeals court ruled in January that the progressive union is not a legitimate labor group because they include fired teachers.
Following the ministry's order, half of the staff members returned to their schools as of March.
For the remaining 35 teachers, who refused to go back to work, the ministry ordered local superintendents to give them the pink slip. Among them, 14 have been dismissed and the other 21 are in the process of being dismissed.
"We have been demanding local education offices to fire the union members who did not return to school," a ministry official said. "We filed the complaint because we can no longer neglect the confusion."
Among the 17 education offices in the country, six have completed dismissal procedures. Three other offices did not have any teachers who did not return to schools after the court ruling.
Later on Wednesday, the eight top educators immediately released a joint statement demanding withdrawal of the complaint.
"It is not sound that the ministry has filed a suit against the country's superintendents, despite the fact that the education ministry and education offices should work together," the release said.
They said the complaint is unreasonable pressure, especially since it takes time to fire people.
In October 2013, the KTU filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court against a government's decision to outlaw the union due to its repeated refusal to deny membership to nine fired teachers.
Under South Korea's labor law, dismissed teachers are not eligible to join a trade union.
The Seoul High Court said the government's decision was legitimate based on the law.
The ruling, if upheld by the Supreme Court, would ban the KTU from using the title "labor union" and engaging in legitimate negotiations with school authorities.
Founded in 1998, the progressive teachers' union became a legitimate organization the following year under the liberal government led by President Kim Dae-jung.
It is the country's largest teachers' union with some 53,000 members as of 2014, according to the labor ministry.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
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