◀ anchor ▶
Education Minister Park Soon-ae’s inappropriate remarks have become known one after another, fueling angry public opinion.
Thanks to the parents meeting and raising the topic, the current discussion forum was prepared. I made a statement for this purpose.
In addition, the fact that he said, ‘I will retire in March next year’ when I met with university presidents, is belatedly known, and criticism is being raised.
Correspondent Jo Hee-won.
◀ Report ▶
Education Minister Park Soon-ae, who held an emergency meeting with representatives of parent groups and set out to control public opinion.
However, rather than dispelling concerns, the absurd remarks provoked even greater backlash.
[박순애/교육부 장관]
“If I had not raised such a topic in the work report by the Ministry of Education, when would we have been able to discuss the voices of parents and heartbreaking stories like this in person over the past 50 or 60 years?”
Criticism poured in.
[정지현/사교육없는세상 공동대표]
“I think you’re talking about giving me a bottle and giving me medicine. You threw away all the information you didn’t fact-check, let the media check all the facts, and now you’re having a meeting like this…”
[박은경/평등교육을위한전국학부모회 대표]
“I can’t even explain to parents what the merits of going to school 5 years old are. I really don’t know how to react…”
The remarks made at a private meeting last month were also revealed late, causing a stir.
The remarks in question came from a meeting with the presidents of seven regional universities on the fourth day of his inauguration, and one president who attended the meeting said that Minister Park “is a style that works very quickly” and “I will be retiring in March next year by pushing ahead with policies quickly.” I plan to do it,” he said.
At the same time, the presidents were surprised and asked, “What if I set a time to leave and work?”, but Minister Park remembered that there was no particular answer.
I asked the Ministry of Education whether the remarks were real or what their purpose was, but they replied, “I can’t confirm it because it was a remark at a private meeting.”
Teachers’ organizations criticized the statement as inappropriate as the head of education, regardless of whether it was true or not.
[조성철/한국교총 대변인]
“If you do it with (retirement) in mind, you will want to show something within your tenure. Achievementism, performanceism.
The unrefined remarks of the Minister of Education are causing controversy every day and fueling the conflict situation.
This is Jo Hee-won from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Kyung-bae / Video editing: Oh Yu-rim
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