Rewards for reporting illegal hagwon activity to rise up to tenfold, reaching W2m

Hagwon district in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This image is not directly related to the article. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Education will raise rewards for reporting illegal hagwon activity by up to tenfold in a bid to stamp out illegal private tutoring and ease the financial burden on families.

The ministry announced Thursday that it had promulgated and immediately enacted a partial amendment to the enforcement regulations of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Hagwon and Private Tutoring.

The revision follows up on a hagwon tuition management plan the government unveiled in February at a ministerial task force meeting on managing living costs. The aim is to strengthen voluntary public oversight, deter illegal private tutoring and improve the integrity of hagwon operations.

Under the amended rules, the reward ceiling for reporting a hagwon or tutoring center operating without registering or notifying the superintendent of education rises tenfold — from 200,000 won ($134) to 2 million won.

Rewards for reporting hagwon that charge fees above their registered rates, or that violate teaching-hour limits set by the superintendent, also increase from 100,000 won to a maximum of 1 million won. The higher rewards apply to reports filed after the amendment takes effect.

Key details of the amended enforcement regulations of the Hagwon Act [Ministry of Education]

The ministry also streamlined the reporting process. Previously, people had to file a report on a separate website and then submit a written application for the reward. Going forward, both steps can be completed in a single visit to the ministry's illegal private education reporting center on its website. The ministry also introduced a unified government login system, allowing users to sign in through simple authentication services such as Naver and Kakao.

The ministry has been conducting special inspections of hagwon tuition fees jointly with provincial and metropolitan education offices since January. As of the end of June, inspections covering 55,280 hagwon and tutoring centers nationwide had uncovered 5,021 violations in total, including 1,286 related to tuition fees. Authorities issued 6,691 administrative dispositions as a result, including orders to suspend classes, criminal complaints and referrals for investigation.

Deputy Education Minister Choi Eun-ok called the move "an unavoidable measure to effectively deter illegal practices by some hagwon — such as overcharging tuition and exceeding permitted teaching hours — by activating public oversight." She added that the ministry would continue working with provincial and metropolitan education offices to eradicate illegal private tutoring and promote the sound development of hagwon.

newday@heraldcorp.com