The Korean Teachers' Credit Union (KTCU) is formed from monthly contributions from elementary and middle school teachers and school administrators. The use of this fund to invest in the private education market has been criticized.

According to information from the office of Congresswoman Jin Sun-mi (Democratic Party of Korea) announced on October 15, in the past 10 years, the Teachers' Credit Fund has spent about 8.5 billion won (about 157 billion VND) to buy stocks related to private education. Specifically, in 2019, the fund bought 2.6 billion won of Icecream Edu shares, and in the period 2020-2022 continued to invest 5.9 billion won in Megastudy Education.

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Students of an elementary school on Jeju Island send letters and cards to their teachers. Photo: Yonhap

Icecream Edu is a digital learning materials provider and online learning platform Icecream Home Run, targeting preschoolers and elementary and middle school students, with over 1.3 million users. Meanwhile, Megastudy Education is a leading private education company in Korea, famous for its online university entrance exam preparation lecture system, re-examination boarding school and university transfer exam preparation center.

The investment was taken from teachers' monthly contributions, which ranged from 30,000 to 250,000 won per person. However, the investment results were not as expected.

According to The Chosun Daily , the Teachers' Trust Fund sold all of its Icecream Edu shares in 2020, after holding them for a year, and earned a profit of 95 million won (equivalent to a profit of 3.7%). But in 2022, when it sold Megastudy Education shares, the fund lost about 500 million won (equivalent to -8%). In total, investments in private education companies caused the fund to lose about 405 million won (about 7.5 billion VND).

In the context of Korean public education facing many difficulties due to the "fever" of extra classes and private education, many opinions say that the Teacher Credit Fund should not invest in this field.

“The fact that the Teachers' Credit Fund, an organization established to improve teachers' welfare and develop education, is investing in the private education market is contrary to its original goal,” said Representative Jin Sun-mi.

She said it was necessary to review fund management policies, including restricting investment in certain industries.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/quy-tin-dung-giao-vien-thua-lo-vi-dau-tu-vao-co-phieu-giao-duc-tu-nhan-2453455.html