Earlier this month,... a ruling party lawmaker unveiled a list of thousands of private preschools have been engaged in various irregularities,... such as accounting fraud.
Triggering a public outcry,... the government and the ruling party have laid out some measures to deal with the issue.
Kim Min-ji reports.
The South Korean government will impose hefty sanctions against irregularities at private preschools and step up monitoring of their accounting transparency.
The ruling Democratic Party and the education ministry announced the new measures Thursday,... in light of recent revelations that some 19-hundred kindergartens were involved in series of irregularities,... from accounting fraud to using taxpayer money to buy personal goods.
Private kindergartens in South Korea receive government subsidies on top of tuition fees.
"The government and the ruling party will sternly deal with private kindergartens' irregularities with a zero-tolerance policy. We will also thoroughly monitor the situation so taxpayer money is solely used on the children."
Private preschools will be required to adopt a state accounting system currently used at schools,... known as "edufine."
Although some have been reluctant thus far,... as their financial records will be under scrutiny,... all preschools will be required to do so by 2020.
The measures also include drastically expanding enrollment at state-run preschools.
On top of initial plans to add some 500 new classes next year,... the government will double that to 1,000,... as part of efforts to achieve its goal of having 40 percent of children attending state-run facilities by 2021,... a year earlier than initially targeted.
The government also vowed stronger punishment if private preschools launch a collective strike or refuse to take new students, as it's a violation of fair trade law.
"We will take action against any action that inflicts children's right to education. The government will not just sit and watch children and parents being negatively affected as a result of one-sided action. There will be strict punishment after the corporate watchdog's probe as they are in violation of the fair trade law."
And to ensure that private kindergartens playing by the rules don't get caught up,... the government will make public their records as well -- so the model cases eventually create a virtuous cycle.
The government said this is just the beginning,... and more measures will be drawn up to address shortcomings along the way,... while the ruling party vowed to do all it can to ensure legislative backing,... whether it be revising laws or boosting the budget.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
