Hanam Elementary School Menu Also Includes 'Vote for People Power Party'... Corrected After Controversy

"No Political Intent in Finding Blank Image of Online Meal Plan"

An elementary school located in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do included an image with the phrase ‘Voting is the Power of the People’ on its school meal menu, which sparked controversy and led to the menu being re-announced. Last month, a similar issue occurred at an elementary school in Daejeon, where the phrase ‘Voting is the Power of the People’ was written on the meal menu. The image included citizens holding ballots and a hibiscus flower illustration.

On the 2nd, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced that on March 26, an elementary school (A Elementary School) in Hanam-si had inserted the phrase ‘Voting is the Power of the People’ and an illustration of a woman holding a ballot paper in the April 10 section of the meal menu.

School lunch menu distributed by A Elementary School
Photo by Yonhap News

It was reported that the school nutritionist included the phrase and image while filling in the blank space on the menu, considering that April 10 was the date of the National Assembly election. The menu was posted as a PDF file on the official website of the elementary school.

Two days after posting, on March 28, the elementary school judged that the menu could be associated with the ruling party ‘People Power Party’ and potentially compromise political neutrality. Therefore, the school revised and reposted the menu on the same day. On April 1, the school notified parents of the revision and the circumstances via the e-Alimi service.

When this news was posted on a mom’s cafe online community, netizens commented, “It seems like it was used carelessly,” “It’s a subtle promotion for the People Power Party,” and “The news about the Daejeon elementary school came out on the 27th, and the revised menu was posted after 3 p.m. on April 1. The response wasn’t quick.”

The nutritionist who prepared the menu at A Elementary School told JoongAng Ilbo in a phone interview that “I only realized there was a problem after seeing the news,” and “I was distressed all weekend about making the mistake, then belatedly explained the situation to the school and corrected the image. I usually search for images to include in the menu via Naver, and when I searched ‘election day,’ this image came up, so I included it without much thought. There was no political intention.”

A Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education official also said, “It seems there was a mistake while the nutritionist was searching online for images to fill the blank space on the menu,” and “There appears to have been no political intention.”

Ahead of the 22nd National Assembly election, a controversy arose after claims were made that a phrase seemingly supporting a specific political party was written on the meal menu of an elementary school in Daejeon.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A similar incident occurred last month at an elementary school in Daejeon. At that time, an image with the phrase ‘Voting is the Power of the People’ was included in the April 10 menu, prompting the education office to launch an investigation. The school reportedly recalled the menu and redistributed a new menu including an apology letter.

Regarding this, the Daejeon Office of Education stated, “The day after the menu was distributed, the Election Commission and the Audit Office launched an investigation into the circumstances and found no political intention,” and “We sent an official letter to all schools emphasizing the strict obligation to maintain political neutrality.”