It was revealed that Lee Kyun-yong, a candidate for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, illegally sent his son and daughter to study abroad early in middle school and elementary school, respectively.
In addition, according to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Dong-yong, candidate Lee’s daughter attended a public elementary school in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, and was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in the United States in 2002, when she was토토사이트 in her fifth grade, to study abroad. The eldest son, who was in middle school, also dropped out and went to study abroad together.
Candidate Lee’s side explained, “My daughter was selected as a gifted musician and received an invitation to a prestigious American conservatory. The conservatory requested a guardian to accompany me, so my wife accompanied me. I also sent my son, who is in middle school, to the U.S. because I had no one to take care of him.” .
The current Elementary and Secondary Education Act stipulates that “all citizens must make it mandatory for their children to attend middle school until they graduate from middle school,” and “exceptions are recognized only when one of the parents is dispatched overseas for official duties,” so candidate Lee’s explanation also applies. Nevertheless, it is considered that he studied abroad illegally.
However, there are no specific punishment provisions for illegal early study abroad, so it has been repeated mainly among high-ranking members of society.
Previously, in 2019, former People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won sent her son, who had finished elementary school, to study abroad in the United States alone, and former Justice Minister Cho Kuk also brought his daughter to the United States to study illegally while he was a visiting scholar in 2005.
Recently, suspicions arose that the son of Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy candidate Bang-gyu Bang also studied illegally in the UK.
Regarding the suspicion of illegal early study abroad, candidate Lee said, “I will check the regulations and procedures at the time in detail and respond later.”