"Suspicions of preferential treatment for high learning" are on the chopping block for national inspection... Ahn Min-seok "Request for investigation in case of violation of law"

Rep. Baek Seung-ah raises suspicions about former Superintendent of Education Lim Tae-hee's pre-private dinner with business operator KT

(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-joo = At the National Assembly Education Committee's audit of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education on the 14th, there were continued criticisms and demands for investigation into the suspicions of preferential treatment surrounding the selection of 'High Learning', a major project of the former Superintendent of Education.

Baek Seung-ah, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The high learning project promoted by former Superintendent Lim Tae-hee was promoted at a very fast pace, from business planning, design service, bidding, and contracting in October 2022 to pilot operation in September 2023. In the process, circumstances were discovered where preferential treatment was provided to a specific company."

High Learning is an educational platform that supports the teaching and learning process of teachers and students based on artificial intelligence (AI), and 38.5 billion won has been invested over the past four years.

Rep. Baek claimed, “There was a private pre-event dinner between KT, which was selected as the final business operator, and former Superintendent Lim, and there is even talk of (KT) employees doing PT,” adding, “I have suspicions that the business idea and implementation plan were tailored to the company in order to hasten the service provided by KT.”

He also pointed out, "In the case of large-scale informatization projects such as Hi-Learning, the establishment of an ISP (Information Strategy Plan) that is verified for necessity and feasibility is essential, but the establishment of an ISP and prior consultation with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security were suddenly omitted during the implementation process."

Rep. Kang Gyeong-sook of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party also said, “This is a case in which those involved in the Hi-Learning business have been reported to the Public Corruption Investigation Office for violating the Anti-Graft Act and the Public Official Conflict of Interest Prevention Act,” and requested, “Please begin to uncover the truth by clearly revealing the suspicion of preferential treatment in selecting the business operator.”

In response to this, Superintendent Ahn Min-seok responded, “The transition committee requested an audit, so an audit is currently in progress, and if any violations are revealed as a result of the audit, we will request an investigation.”