A president who gave up the neutrality of the National Relations Committee… The ideological conflict between the members of the National Assembly nomination committee is obvious, but the members of the presidential nominee are also on the right.

The outline of the National Education Commission (National Education Committee), which will be officially launched on the 27th, has been revealed. Concerns have been raised about the committee’s neutrality, such as the appointment of former Ewha Womans University president Lee Bae-yong, who was involved in the compilation of state textbooks on Korean history during the Park Geun-hye administration, as chairman, ay president appoints a right-wing economist who expressed hostility to public education as a member.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 22nd that the list of five presidential appointees including the chairman was final, and the recommendation and nomination of 19 members, excluding two recommended by teachers’ organisations, out of a total of 21 members of the National Association . Education Committee completed. Former Ewha Womans University president Lee Bae-yong was appointed as chairman, and other members nominated by the president include Daegu City Superintendent Kang Eun-hee, Ewha Womans University Professor Emeritus Kang Hye-ryun, Chungnam University Professor Emeritus Cheon Se-young, and former Free Enterprise Director Kim Jeong-ho.

As the National Relations Committee is the body that determines the framework and direction of the medium to long term national education policy, it is expected that the controversy over the history and activities of the members appointed by the president will grow. Former President Bae-Yong Lee served as head of the Central Research Institute for Korean Studies during the Korean history textbook crisis from the time he was announced as chairman (ministerial level), and was criticized for his a story of deep intervention in the work of compilation, but it was named as it was. In addition to former President Lee, former President Kim Jeong-ho was appointed as a member of the National Relations Committee, although he is a right-wing economist who has maintained his insistence on ‘subverting public education’ by marketing schools through personal methods. broadcasting and books.

The five members nominated by the president were confirmed on the same day, and the recommendation and nominations of 19 members of the National Relations Commission have been completed so far. The list of nine recommended members of the National Assembly has already been confirmed, with two standing members at vice-minister level, including Professor Tae-Jun Kim of Dongduk Women’s University and Dae-Hwa Jeong, chairman of the Scholarship Foundation Korea, all recommended by the People’s Power and the Democratic Party of Korea. However, in the area where the members of the National Assembly include people with clear political colors mainly in line with the political interests of the opposition party and opposition parties, the members nominated by the president show a darker political color. This is a point that is expected to suffer in the process of implementing the National Relations Committee in the future.

The two members recommended by the teachers’ organization are yet to be decided. The 14 teacher-related organizations agreed to a recommendation among the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Organizations (KFTA), the Federation of Teachers’ Unions (Teachers’ Union), and the National Union of Teachers (All Teachers’ Union) through consultation. unpredictable situation.

The Ministry of Education said that no further explanation was given regarding the reasons for the nomination by the presidential office for the members who are expected to be controversial due to their neutrality. Oh Seok-hwan, the head of the preparation group for the establishment of the National Relations Committee only said, “I understand that the members were appointed by the Office of the President to consider these matters because it is necessary to consider not only the expertise in education but also. also the connection with various national policies.”