Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Park Soon-ae offered to resign on Monday, nearly a month after taking the office, overwhelmed by the controversies surrounding the school entry age reform plan. Park is the first minister in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to resign. “I am resigning from my post as the deputy prime minister and education minister. I took the office wanting to give the education benefits that I had to other people, but it was not enough,” Park said, h

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2022

With the Education Ministry flip-flopping on its plan to scrap “elite high schools,” foreign language high schools have been once again pushed to the brink of abolition. Confusion has ensued over the fate of elite schools every time the government changed hands. The previous Moon Jae-in administration had planned to end autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools and international schools, abolishing them or turning them into regular schools by March 2025, over

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2022

The Ministry of Education proposed a reform of the school system to send children to elementary school 1 year earlier. The Education Ministry got the green light to work on a reform of the current school system that would lower the age of entry to elementary school by one year on Friday afternoon. Education Minister Park Soon-ae directly briefed President Yoon Suk-yeol on the ministry’s agenda at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, to which Yoon ordered Park to push fo

Social Affairs July 29, 2022

A police officer who is not a graduate of the National Police University has been appointed as the head of the new police bureau, which will be launched under the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. Senior Superintendent-General Kim Sun-ho, the head of the National Security Investigation Bureau under the National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency, will take office as the chief of the newly launched bureau. Kim graduated in political science from Sungkyunkwan University. He ear

Social Affairs July 29, 2022

The police are taking a step back from a confrontation with the government over the launch of a police bureau under the Interior Ministry, withdrawing its plan to hold a large-scale meeting and instead calling for legislative efforts to deter the move. 　 Kim Seong-jong, a senior inspector at Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul, who called for a meeting of police officers this weekend, withdrew the suggestion Wednesday. “The launch of the police bureau has been confirmed as the decree has

Social Affairs July 27, 2022

The enforcement decree regarding the launch of a new police bureau passed the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, shortly after President Yoon Suk-yeol slammed the collective action of police officers who are against the launch to be a “breach against state discipline.” The Cabinet approval means the new police bureau under the Interior Ministry will be launched as planned on Aug. 2. Yoon, who had stayed on the sidelines of the conflict regarding the launch, increased his criticism Tuesday

Social Affairs July 26, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol requested the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to develop a roadmap for abolition soon. “(Yoon) has requested that (the Gender Minister) come up with a roadmap for abolition after figuring out the overall duties of the ministry,” spokesperson Kang In-sun said at a briefing held Monday after Gender Minister made her first report to the president. Gender Minister Kim Hyun-sook said the ministry is working on the agenda. 　 “We have launched a ta

Social Affairs July 25, 2022

The government and the ruling People Power Party continued to call out police officers opposing the new “police bureau,” with Interior Minister Lee Sang-min comparing resistance to a coup d’etat. Lee further explained the legitimacy of the launch, arguing it is an act of democracy. Lee attacked Saturday’s meeting held by police chiefs, saying it was an act of insubordination. “To leave one’s garrison and gather is similar to the Dec. 12 coup d’etat

Social Affairs July 25, 2022

　 The National Police Agency has been struggling with internal opposition a mere week ahead of the launch of a new “police bureau” under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Hours after a meeting of police chiefs from around the country who were against the launch of the new police bureau, Yoon Hee-keun, the national police chief nominee, ordered superintendent Ryu Sam-yeong to go on stand-by Saturday. The police agency is also looking into inspecting some 50 superintendents wh

Social Affairs July 24, 2022

A school field trip to Jeju Island resulted in a mass infection of COVID-19 for a high school based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. A total of 159 high school students and faculty members tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. According to the North Jeolla Province Education Office, some 440 high school students and 20 faculty members went to Jeju Island from July 12 to 15. Though this trip is usually only taken by first graders, this year, second graders joined in as they could n

Social Affairs July 21, 2022

The government will lift restrictions on universities to train 150,000 people with expertise in the semiconductor industry over the course of 10 years, the Ministry of Education’s road map showed Tuesday. The announcement comes less than a month after President Yoon Suk-yeol called for special measures to boost the semiconductor industry, including training the next generation of talent. The local chip industry has repeatedly pointed out shortage of manpower to be a problem as many expe

Social Affairs July 19, 2022

The Education Ministry said it will tighten access to campuses at night and increase the number of closed-circuit TVs at Inha University in Incheon in response to the recent death of a student. “We are deeply sorry about the death of a student at Inha University, which happened on Friday,” the Education Ministry issued an official statement Monday. “We will do our best to ensure the safety of the university campus.” The ministry proposed increasing the number of close

Social Affairs July 19, 2022

The Interior Ministry finalized its plan to launch a “police bureau” to supervise the police, which has recently seen its powers increased. The National Police Agency expressed their intention to accept the plan, despite criticism from police officers. 　 On Friday, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min announced the details of the launch of the new police bureau. The new bureau will have 16 members, of which 13 would be police officials, a decision made in response to the criticism t

Politics July 15, 2022

With Korea’s consumer prices jumping at an unprecedented rate, the Seoul Education Office is planning to raise an extra budget for school meals. All kindergarteners and elementary, middle and high school students are subject to free school lunch in the city of Seoul. The city launched its free lunch program for students in 2011 and has since expanded it. However, with hiking consumer prices, the Seoul Education Office is planning to raise an extra budget to continue its support for f

Social Affairs July 13, 2022

Regional education office chiefs met with the Education Minister on Monday, calling for a task force to work out measures related to the government’s education budget reallocation plan. After the authorities have decided to reallocate part of budget earmarked for early childhood, elementary and secondary education for higher and lifelong education -- mainly to invest in training for semiconductor experts -- chiefs of education offices across the nation expressed disapproval. “The

Social Affairs July 12, 2022