Political controversy spills over to 'Olive School'... "Claims of a 'family business' and a 'salary feast' are distortions; this is stigmatization, not scrutiny"

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Han Jeong-woo, head of Kkumteul Cooperative, is interviewed by the Kyunghyang Shinmun at Budnae Library in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 10th. Kim Tae-hee

"Director Park Kyung-suk (the spouse of Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won) is an employee at Olive School. Both personnel and management are decided by the board of directors. The criticisms of a 'family business' and a 'salary feast' are distortions of the facts."

In an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun on the 10th, Han Jeong-woo, head of Kkumteul Cooperative, refuted in this way the suspicions raised in political circles about the "Korea Child Development Social Cooperative" (Olive School). Han operates a treatment center for people with developmental disabilities and has been substantively involved in Olive School's selection as a voucher provider.

Olive School is a care facility for people with developmental disabilities in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. A total of 20 people with developmental disabilities live there, and eight people, including Director Park, work as full-time staff. All clients at the facility have severe developmental disabilities, and most cannot communicate verbally.

Since the nomination of Kim as Minister of Justice, the facility has been dogged by various allegations, including favoritism related to voucher selection, family management and hiring, and self-approved pay raises. Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party claimed, "When it was first established in Yongin, it received 0 KRW in government support, but after moving to Suwon, which is nominee Kim's constituency, it received hundreds of millions of KRW. This institution received government support and pursued private interests by raising the salaries of nominee Kim's family members by 30% each."

Han said regarding this, "We need to look at what process led Olive School to move to Suwon."

According to him, Olive School is a cooperative jointly established in 2019 by parents after a developmental-disability care center in Yongin closed due to management difficulties. They rented a building at their own expense, and Director Park cared for children with developmental disabilities there. At that time, each family had to pay around 3 million KRW per month, which was a considerable burden. Han said, "I was the one who recommended registering as a voucher provider and who suggested Suwon as the relocation site," adding, "This was because I thought my alma mater, Dongnam Health University (located in Suwon), should play a role in the local community."

Han stated, "Thanks to preparations made several months before the move, we were selected as a voucher provider, and thereafter we provided care services and received government support according to the number of children served," and added, "We were selected in accordance with established criteria, leaving no room for involvement by nominee Kim."

Regarding the amount of voucher support, he said, "The total 880 million KRW received over four years likewise reflects headcount and the number of care hours provided; it is not a structure in which one can inflate the amount."

He also said there are overly far-fetched aspects to the allegations of family management and hiring favoritism. Han said, "Olive School is a social cooperative, and all decisions are made by the members (parents) through the board of directors. Director Park has no authority related to personnel or management." He added, "For care institutions for people with developmental disabilities, securing staff is next to impossible. She volunteered to work at a place no one wants to come to because it is so difficult, and she was hired in accordance with established procedures."

As various suspicions made them a target, Olive School parents recently issued individual pleas. In their statements, they said consistently, "The teachers at Olive School are doing things that could never be accomplished without love and dedication," and, "Please do not distort the sincerity of those who silently take on the toughest, thankless tasks and stay by our children's side until their wrists are worn down. Please do not make us targets for political purposes."

A parent identified as A said, "If the teachers actually worked and cared for the children and received fair wages for that, why is that a problem? It is an overreach to categorically label it hiring corruption when they entered a welfare setting where staffing is difficult and actually performed the work."

A added, "Do you know with what state of mind parents who have raised children with developmental disabilities create such an institution? If there is really a problem, then present evidence of favoritism. To brand it as corruption simply because family members worked together is not verification but stigmatization."

Han also challenged Rep. Joo's assertion that they "raised family members' salaries to secure private gain while the cooperative's net income was declining."

He pointed out, "Olive School's income relies entirely on vouchers, and the uses of voucher funds are fixed as personnel expenses, activity expenses, rent, and so on. Since labor costs, which account for the majority of expenses, increased, net income would naturally decrease. They are interpreting it by reversing cause and effect."

He continued, "My understanding is that parents decided on the pay raise because existing wages were excessively low. Even after the increase, the director's salary is about 4 million KRW, which is low compared with the intensity of the labor and her experience," and added, "Not only the director but other employees also had their pay raised under the same criteria."