Post alleging unfair dismissal goes viral online

'Everyone whispers she was fired for earning too much'

Not directly related to this article. [AI-generated image]
Not directly related to this article. [AI-generated image]

A daycare teacher with more than a decade of service was pressured to resign after eating leftover bread that children had not finished, a colleague has claimed.

The claim surfaced Monday on Nate Pann, a popular online community forum, in a post titled "Does it make sense to be forced to resign for eating leftover snacks?"

The author, identified only as A, said a fellow teacher had been pushed out of the daycare center. "The reason was that she ate a few pieces of bread left over from the children's snack time," A wrote.

A added that the bread had been destined for the trash, noting it was set to expire that same day.

According to A, the daycare director reviewed closed-circuit television footage and summoned the teacher, identified as B, telling her that eating the leftover bread constituted embezzlement and recommending she resign.

"Three pieces of bread — embezzlement?" A wrote, expressing disbelief. A also noted that teachers at other daycare centers routinely share uneaten snacks to avoid waste, asking, "Isn't that normal?"

A described Teacher B as someone who had worked at the center for more than 10 years and was the children's favorite. "Everyone whispers that the director just wanted to fire her because her salary was too high," A wrote.

A added that the remaining staff had since stopped touching any leftover snacks, throwing everything away instead. "If that's what the director wants, congratulations," A wrote.

Online commenters sided overwhelmingly with the teacher. "Tell her to report it to the labor office — as unfair dismissal," one wrote. Another said, "The director needed an excuse to let her go. A daycare run with that kind of mindset won't last long." A third commented, "It's sad that the children's favorite teacher is leaving under such circumstances."

Meanwhile, data submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Seo Beom-su of the National Assembly's Education Committee by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday showed that 11,093 daycare centers nationwide had shut down over the four and a half years through the end of June this year.

Of those, home-based daycare centers accounted for 6,949 closures and private centers for 3,284, together making up 92.2 percent of the total.

By region, Gyeonggi Province recorded the highest number of closures at 3,234, followed by Seoul with 1,502, South Gyeongsang Province with 994, South Jeolla Province and Gwangju combined with 633, North Gyeongsang Province with 609, South Chungcheong Province with 603, and Incheon with 594.

The leading reasons cited for closure were a decline in the number of children, accounting for 4,871 cases or 43.9 percent, and financial difficulties, at 3,477 cases or 31.3 percent.

Observers warn that the continued closure of daycare centers is eroding the infant care infrastructure, causing delays in enrollment and disrupting the return-to-work plans of dual-income households.


jshan@heraldcorp.com