Ji-Hyang Park, chair of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, returns to work after court says she should remain in office

[Financial News] Ji-Hyang Park, chair of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, who had been suspended by the Ministry of Education, will return to work after a court granted a stay of execution.
According to the legal community on the 24th, Division 7 of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kang Woo-chan, granted Park's request on the 21st to suspend the Ministry of Education's disciplinary action. It came about 20 days after the ministry notified Park of her suspension on the 28th of last month.
The Ministry of Education investigated Park and the foundation after allegations were raised in the National Assembly last year that about 27 million won in project funds related to Liancourt Rocks and Ulleungdo, as well as about 12 million won in budget for the 'Wednesday Forum,' had been used improperly.
The ministry later asked police to investigate, saying violations including occupational embezzlement had been confirmed, and notified Park of her suspension.
It was also reported that 23 other foundation officials received disciplinary action.
Park filed a lawsuit on the merits on the 3rd seeking to overturn the ministry's decision, along with a request for a stay of execution.
The court accepted her request, saying it had not been sufficiently established whether the spending cited by the ministry constituted 'expenditure outside the budget' or whether Park had intent to commit occupational embezzlement.
It also found it difficult to conclude that there was a clear need and justification for suspending Park's duties based on those allegations.
The court said, "There is an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm to the applicant (Park)," and added, "There is no evidence suggesting that the stay of execution would seriously affect the public interest."
Under the court's decision, the suspension of Park's duties will remain in effect until 30 days after the first-instance ruling in the main lawsuit is issued.
[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter