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| Korea Kindergarten Association head Lee Deok-sun announces that members will continue to protest against the government's plan for tougher regulations by suspending the opening for the new semester. / Yonhap |
Kindergarten group sticks to plan to delay semester opening
By Kim Rahn
Parents are up in arms over a private kindergarten group's collective action to delay opening for new semester, a decision announced only four days before the scheduled opening.
Double-income parents are desperate to find someone to care for their children during the daytime, while some are planning to sue for compensation.
Last Thursday, the Korea Kindergarten Association (KKA) announced the suspension plan in protest against the government's push to introduce tougher rules on private preschools for more transparent management.
Since then the Ministry of Education and regional education offices have been trying to grasp the exact number of kindergartens that will not open for the new semester on Monday as scheduled, and to come up with emergency measures to care for children whose parents are unavailable.
According to the ministry's survey, 190, or 5 percent of 3,875 private kindergartens nationwide are expected to participate in the delay. But nearly 300 have not responded to the ministry's inquiry about their plans, so the actual number may be larger.
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| A parent holds a picket that reads "Moms are angry," in front of Suji-gu Office in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, during a protest against the Korea Kindergarten Association's decision to delay opening for new semester slated for Monday. / Yonhap |
"The kindergarten just sent a text message that it would not be open on Monday, and they have been out of contact since," a working mother wrote on an internet community of Gyeonggi Province mothers, Friday.
Another wrote, "I managed to take leave for Monday and Tuesday (to take care of my child), but if the opening delay continues after that, I don't know what to do."
Dozens of petitions have been posted on Cheong Wa Dae's website, calling for the punishment of KKA leaders and operators of kindergartens that are suspending the opening.
For Leaders Kindergarten in Gyeonggi Province operated by KKA head Lee Deok-sun, a mother is collecting the signatures of other parents to join a compensation suit.
On the Gyeonggi mothers' community site, she claimed the opening delay infringed on the children's right to learn and caused mental damage to parents who cannot find alternative means of childcare.
"I'll seek a damage suit if the kindergarten does not retract the plan," the mother wrote. "If we remain idle, private kindergartens will repeat such acts and take parents and children hostage again."
Despite the havoc, the KKA remains firm, saying it will go beyond the operation delay to consider shutting down their facilities if the government cracks down on the "work-to-rule." It also said more than 1,500 members would take part in the collective move.
While the government says it is illegal for a kindergarten to suspend the opening for a semester without undergoing discussion at committee level, the KKA says it is a private kindergarten's right to adjust their opening dates or academic schedule.
The KKA also said it would consider filing a complaint against Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae for "abuse of power" following the ministry's plan to make the kindergartens open to criminal complaints.
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| From right, Cho Hee-yeon, regional education office head of Seoul, Lee Jae-jung of Gyeonggi Province and Do Seong-hun of Incheon announce their opposition to the delay in kindergartens' operation, during a joint press conference at Cho's office in central Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap |
The government is also firm. The ministry said it would check the actual opening and delay of the KKA member kindergartens on Monday, and issue corrective orders on those that do not open. If the preschools do not follow the order by Tuesday, the ministry will ask the prosecution to investigate them for violating the Child Education Act.
Heads of regional education offices in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon also held a joint press conference Sunday to express their strong opposition to the kindergartens' "illegal action."
Seoul education head Cho Hee-yeon said his office, which holds authority over the KKA, would revoke its license if the opening delay decision is not lifted.
