Park Sunae's Departure Leaves Only the Withdrawal of Enrollment for 5-Year-Olds

National Assembly Education Committee Announces Ministry of Education's Position
Ministry of Education: "Will Summarize and Address Comprehensively"
Parents and Teacher Groups Demand Firm Policy Withdrawal Response

With the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Park Soon-ae, the Ministry of Education's policy to lower the school entry age to 5 years old is also expected to be withdrawn.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Education is scheduled to announce its position regarding the policy to lower the school entry age to 5 at the National Assembly's Education Committee. A Ministry of Education official stated, "Given the various circumstances such as the Deputy Prime Minister's resignation, we will comprehensively organize our position and mention it at the Education Committee." Since opposition party lawmakers have also been urging the withdrawal of the policy to lower the school entry age to 5, it is expected that the Ministry of Education will face strong criticism at the committee.

Deputy Prime Minister Park Soon-ae held an emergency press conference the day before and voluntarily resigned, saying, "I take full responsibility for all controversies including the school system reform." She did not make any separate remarks regarding the withdrawal of the policy at that time. Despite controversies over drunk driving and plagiarism and duplicate publication of papers, Park pushed forward the policy to lower the school entry age to 5 years old excessively and eventually resigned after 34 days.

The policy, which was not included in the national agenda, was announced suddenly, and since it was a policy that previous administrations had repeatedly failed to implement due to social and economic costs, parents strongly opposed it. The announcement of a policy causing social confusion without prior discussion and the statement that opinions would be gathered through public surveys in August and September also gave parents the impression that the policy would be enforced regardless.

Even after Deputy Prime Minister Park's resignation, parent and teacher organizations are urging the Ministry of Education to clearly organize its position on the policy withdrawal. The National Union of Public Kindergarten Teachers stated, "More important than the minister's resignation is the complete withdrawal of the policy for elementary school entry at age 5," emphasizing, "The government must not only make the decision to dismiss the minister but also instruct the Ministry of Education to guarantee the policy's withdrawal."

The Nationwide Coalition to Prevent Elementary School Entry at Age 5 held a press conference at the National Assembly that morning, urging the policy's withdrawal. They said, "The President should not think that the situation has been resolved by the minister's resignation and must clearly promise the public that the policy to lower the school entry age to 5 will never be mentioned again," adding, "We want a sincere promise from the President and a clear statement from the Ministry of Education." The Ministry of Education, in its report to the National Assembly the day before, removed the content about lowering the school entry age, stating, "This does not mean a change in position, and we plan to go through a public discussion process," which still leaves parents uneasy.

Teacher organizations also agree that the time for public discussion of the policy has already passed. The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations said, "The government should take heavy responsibility for causing educational conflicts and gaps. Policies that are not supported by the field should be withdrawn immediately rather than causing unnecessary conflicts through public discussion," and pointed out, "If the intention is to strengthen the state's educational responsibility, support should be directed toward integrating kindergarten and preschool and strengthening public education for 5-year-olds, rather than lowering the school entry age."

The Seoul Teachers' Union commented, "Along with the resignation of Minister of Education Park Soon-ae, the policy to lower the elementary school entry age to 5, which does not align with children's developmental stages and educational principles, should be properly discarded, and there should be no re-discussion."