[Interview] Yoon Seong-mi, Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly Member: "Youth 'Drug Crimes' Must Be Raised as a Social Issue"

The Only Pharmaceutical Specialist in Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly... Leveraging Experience to Demonstrate Expertise on Current Issues in Educational Settings

Yun Seong-mi, Vice Chairperson of the Education Committee, Gyeongnam Provincial Council.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] "To protect students from indiscriminate exposure to drugs and internet gambling, a thorough survey of the current situation in local educational settings and practical countermeasures are urgently needed."

Yoon Seongmi, the only pharmaceutical expert member of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council and Vice Chair of the Education Committee, emphasized on the 25th during a meeting with reporters at her council office, "Education must change first to protect students from addictive illegal activities."

Yoon, who served as Vice President of the Gyeongnam Pharmaceutical Association and entered local politics in 2018 as a proportional representative of the People Power Party in the provincial council, has raised her voice on issues directly related to education in the province, such as the current state of drug misuse education and the proposal for automatic insulin injectors for children with diabetes.

Below is a Q&A with Councilor Yoon.

- You have mainly been involved in health-related activities, such as serving as the head of the Korea Drug Prevention Movement Headquarters in Gyeongnam. What motivated you to enter local politics?

"Before becoming a council member, I was the head of the Korea Drug Prevention Movement Headquarters in Gyeongnam, where I provided drug education to incarcerated drug offenders. At that time, I asked myself, 'Should we simply hate them because they are violent criminals, or are they people who have not received proper education?' Therefore, I wanted to bring the social issue of drugs into the institutional framework to establish a proper educational system. That was the beginning of my involvement in the People Power Party’s Culture and Welfare Committee."

- Looking back on your legislative activities, is there a memorable five-minute speech you recall?

"I once spoke about the need to establish new methods for drug misuse prevention education in school settings. The 'Burning Sun' incident introduced the unfamiliar drug 'date rape drug' known as 'water drug' (molnupiravir). This drug is colorless and odorless, so when secretly mixed into drinks, it leaves no trace, earning it the nickname 'date rape drug.' Upon investigating the actual state of drug misuse education, I found that physical education or social studies teachers often replaced specialized instruction with simple audiovisual materials. Many schools did not conduct such education at all. My speech urged the thorough establishment and implementation of a systematic drug prevention education plan related to these issues."

A scene of Representative Yoon making a policy inquiry.

- You also spoke about the problem of illegal internet gambling among students.

"The issue of youth gambling is currently severe. Especially, students residing in Gyeongnam and Jeju have relatively high gambling rates. It was confirmed that 13.0% of respondents engage in illegal internet gambling 'daily.' There are even cases where students borrow money from friends to gamble and then repay the debts. As this culture spreads, some students have taken on the role of loan sharks among their peers. However, because everyone keeps quiet about it, the actual situation is not well known. I believe an immediate survey is necessary to eradicate internet gambling through education."

- Recently, you proposed supporting automatic insulin injectors for students with diabetes, which directly relates to their right to learn. What is the background of this proposal?

"Adult diabetes can be managed with medication, but children with diabetes must inject insulin into their abdomen 4 to 5 times a day. This means they cannot fully concentrate on lessons and must focus on injections. The automatic insulin injector helps alleviate this. However, it costs about 3 million won. Fortunately, last year, the National Health Insurance Service began covering 70% of the cost. If the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education supports the remaining 30%, children who are burdened by injections during class will decrease. As of last year, there are 192 children with diabetes. Even if all these children purchase the device, the total support would be less than 200 million won. This level of funding can protect children with diabetes in terms of their right to learn and health. Now, attention must be given to children with diabetes who have been overlooked in educational support."

- What are your thoughts on the recent three-stage differentiated hiring alternative proposed by the provincial education office?

"I doubt whether actual work sharing will occur if after-school teachers are converted to educational public officials. There is friction because the nature of after-school teachers’ duties differs from school administrative tasks. The core idea is to reduce teachers’ workload, but the problem is that the voices of teachers in the field are not being heard. Also, the three-stage differentiated hiring violates the educational public official ordinance. In principle, after-school teachers should enter through open recruitment simultaneously with other educational public official applicants, with some additional points given to after-school teachers."

- Could you mention the problems and improvements needed in the current education sector in Gyeongnam?

"As I mentioned earlier, correcting the youth drug misuse education system and illegal internet gambling is a priority. To do this, education must be based on actual surveys of students’ conditions, and arbitrary, makeshift education must be eliminated."