Criticism of the supervision and management system of private schools by the education office has intensified as it was revealed that a teacher at a school affiliated with Wan San Academy in Jeonju, who had embezzled public funds, was recommended as a candidate for principal training. The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union (hereinafter referred to as the Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union) issued a statement on February 3, urging the Jeonbuk Office of Education to immediately reject the recommendation and establish institutional controls over the selection process for private school administrators.

According to a statement released by the Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union on February 3, the teacher in question had a history of embezzling school funds in 2017, resulting in a two-month salary deduction as punishment. The teacher was reported to have inflated the amount of a contract with a company, spent the school budget, and then recovered the money through an external company. The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union defined this as an act of "using the duty of contract work to gain personal profit rather than a simple accounting error or management failure."

The focal point of the controversy surrounding this recommendation is the application of the 'criteria for recommending candidates for training.' The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union argued that according to the regulations of the personnel management of education officials, individuals with major misconduct (bribery, habitual assault, sexual assault, sexual manipulation) or equivalent misconduct records should be excluded from training candidates regardless of their disciplinary records. They emphasized that embezzlement of public funds is a significant misconduct comparable to the four major misconducts, as it involves diverting public funds that should be used for student educational activities for personal use.

The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union also linked this issue to the problem of the selection of private school administrators. They pointed out that in a closed structure where the recommendation of principal candidates is almost entirely entrusted to the judgment of the board of directors of the foundation, the lack of transparency and accountability in the verification process was revealed. They stated that if the education office allows this to continue, it would be permitting individuals with significant misconduct records to become school administrators repeatedly.

The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union demanded the following actions from the education office and the foundation:

First, the Jeonbuk Office of Education should not recognize the teacher with a history of embezzlement as a candidate for principal training and should immediately reject this recommendation.

Second, the foundation's board of directors should transparently disclose the basis for the judgment of principal candidate recommendations and the review process of disciplinary records.

Third, the Jeonbuk Office of Education should inspect the entire process of selecting private school administrators and establish institutional control mechanisms to prevent individuals with significant misconduct records from being recommended or appointed as administrators.

The Jeonbuk branch of the National Teachers Union stated, "Untrustworthy school operations cannot be tolerated by educational authorities," and emphasized that the education office and private school foundations must take this issue seriously and implement responsible measures immediately.

Education Superintendent Seo Geo-seok (elected invalid for the term 2022-2025.6) promised to normalize irregularities through the dispatch of an interim board of directors for Wan San Academy's 2nd term (2022.10~), but this interim board of directors faced criticism for attempting unfair personnel decisions and regulation revisions, which could exacerbate recurrence of issues. The interim board of directors for the 3rd term can also be seen in a similar light. Both the 2nd and 3rd terms were appointed during Seo Geo-seok's tenure as the education superintendent.

In October last year, the Parents' Committee and local representatives of Wan San Middle School's operating committee held a press conference demanding "transparent disclosure of the entire process and responsible measures" regarding suspicions of corruption, disciplinary actions, and reinstatement controversies surrounding the Wan San Academy foundation.

At that time, the placards they held read phrases such as "5 billion taxpayer money wasted, what is the education office doing?", "5 billion in subsidies supported by taxpayer money, embezzlement of taxpayer money, invest in our children's education," "Promotion fee of 20 million won, not dismissal but reinstatement, what our children saw was not sweat but money." One parent asked the journalist, "How can the school be normalized?" and concluded that "it is important who ultimately decides to dispatch the interim board of directors."