Park Ji-hyang, chairwoman of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, delivers opening remarks at a symposium presenting findings from a comprehensive academic survey of Ulleungdo and Dokdo, held at the foundation's main conference room in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in June. [Yonhap]
Park Ji-hyang, chairwoman of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, delivers opening remarks at a symposium presenting findings from a comprehensive academic survey of Ulleungdo and Dokdo, held at the foundation's main conference room in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in June. [Yonhap]

A Seoul court has granted a request by Northeast Asian History Foundation Chairwoman Park Ji-hyang to suspend the Ministry of Education's order removing her from her duties.

According to legal sources, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 7, presided over by Judge Kang Woo-chan, accepted Park's application to stay the duty-suspension order on Friday. A stay of execution temporarily halts the effect of an administrative disposition until a final ruling is issued in the main lawsuit.

The court ruled that the duty-suspension order issued to Park on July 28 would be stayed until 30 days after the first-instance ruling in the main case challenging the suspension. That main lawsuit, which seeks to overturn the duty-suspension order, is being heard separately at the Seoul Administrative Court.

Under the Administrative Litigation Act, a court may stay the effect of a disposition — either upon a party's application or on its own authority — when it finds an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm that could arise from the disposition while a cancellation suit is pending.

In its decision, the court said it was difficult to conclude that sufficient grounds existed to establish that Park had intended to embezzle public funds, or that suspending her duties at this point was necessary and proportionate.

The court added that, taking into account the overall circumstances — including the sequence of events, when the alleged misconduct occurred, when it was raised during a national audit, and the time elapsed before the suspension order was issued — there was an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm to Park.

The court also found no evidence that granting the stay would pose a serious risk to the public interest.

The Ministry of Education had been investigating Park and the foundation after allegations surfaced in the National Assembly last year over the improper use of project funds related to Dokdo and Ulleungdo, as well as the budget for a regular forum known as the "Wednesday Forum." The ministry notified Park of her suspension on July 29. At the same time, 23 foundation staff members were also reportedly subject to disciplinary action.

The ministry determined that the foundation had spent funds on Dokdo- and Ulleungdo-related projects and the Wednesday Forum that were not included in its 2024 project plan and budget, and that the spending fell outside the designated purposes. The foundation rebuffed the finding, arguing that its internal rules allowed for the mutual reallocation of budget items.

On this point, the court said that, based on the full record and the substance of the hearings, the foundation's 2024 budget had included a line item for "Dokdo and Donghae research and outreach" under the broader category of "protecting Dokdo sovereignty and ocean research." It added that it was therefore difficult to conclude that sufficient grounds existed to determine whether the expenditures in question constituted spending outside the approved budget.


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