Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General, are attending an event held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 30th, exchanging greetings. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] A controversy arose after a high school in Jeonbuk assigned a question asking students to describe the virtues of public officials using a specific political issue as an example.
According to the Dong-A Ilbo on the 3rd, the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education announced that a high school in Gunsan conducted the first semester final exams over three days starting from the 30th of last month. However, a problem occurred during the ethics exam for second-year students held on the 1st. The exam consisted of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, but the short-answer questions 4 and 5, which required students to write their own thoughts, sparked controversy over 'political bias.'
The short-answer question 4 asked, "Based on page 86 of the textbook, describe within 70 characters the virtues necessary for public officials according to Jeong Yak-yong's 'Mokminsimseo,' keeping in mind recent political issues such as the Yoon Seok-yeol X-file involving his mother-in-law and wife, and Lee Jun-seok's military service corruption." Additionally, question 5 asked students to describe within 100 characters the virtues necessary for public officials based on Plato's 'Republic,' using the same examples.
This sparked controversy over including issues that could instill negative perceptions of specific politicians in a high school exam. Since this subject was elective, only about 70 out of approximately 140 second-year students took the exam, and both questions were equally weighted at 5 points each. The question setter was a temporary teacher, Mr. A, who had been teaching ethics to second-year students three times a week since March this year. Mr. A reportedly expressed regret, stating, "I should have maintained political neutrality but failed to do so."
The school explained, "There is only one ethics teacher, so we received support from a visiting teacher. He is someone who has lectured at universities and teaches the students diligently," adding, "The exam covered the unit on integrity and corruption, and the questions were based on discussions held with students during class using examples," and clarified, "He is not affiliated with the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU)." The school also announced that on the 3rd, they would hold an academic performance management committee meeting to investigate the facts and discuss whether to hold a retest.
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