Minister Lee Ju-ho "From the Perspective of Personal Information Protection"
Moon Jung-bok "Refusal to Submit Data Increases Anxiety"
At the 'Joint Hearing on Medical School Education Inspection' conducted by the National Assembly's Education and Health and Welfare Committee, a dispute continued between the government and the opposition over the submission of minutes from the Medical School Quota Allocation Review Committee meetings, which were organized under the leadership of the Ministry of Education.
Moon Jung-bok, the opposition party secretary of the Education Committee, said at the hearing held at the National Assembly on the 16th, "At last week's plenary session, the ruling and opposition party secretaries agreed to exclude the name of the allocation committee chairperson whose identity is unknown from the list of witnesses for the hearing, on the condition that materials sufficiently revealing the contents of the allocation review committee meetings would be submitted. The ruling party secretary and the Ministry of Education promised this." He added, "However, on the 13th, which was the deadline for submitting materials, the Medical School Quota Allocation Committee refused to submit materials, claiming that as an ad hoc, non-statutory committee, it is not subject to the obligation to prepare minutes as stipulated by the Public Records Enforcement Decree." He continued, "Later that same day around 5 p.m., they submitted materials again, but upon review, the contents were very insufficient. We requested additional supplementation, but they said the consultation contents of the allocation committee had been destroyed. The opaque operation and inadequate procedures of the allocation committee, which have been controversial, are undermining the purpose of medical innovation and amplifying public anxiety," he emphasized.
In response, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, explained, "The allocation committee is not a statutory body but an ad hoc organization. It is a body for advising the minister." He added, "In the past, when the allocation committee was operated as a matter of custom, especially the Ministry of Education's allocation committee, it was customary not to prepare minutes, not only for this committee but also for similar allocation committees." He further explained, "Information about allocation committee members is handled by the Personal Information Protection Commission, and since we are very sensitive about allocation matters, when operating such an allocation committee, we promise to protect the personal information of the members and invite them accordingly." He concluded, "Therefore, I ask for your understanding that there were shortcomings in the submission of materials based on the trust to protect personal information."
Kim Young-ho, Chairperson of the Education Committee, criticized, "Minister Lee is making statements that are not permitted under the National Assembly Act." He said, "According to the National Assembly Act, reasons other than those directly affecting national security cannot be accepted, as I mentioned at the last plenary session. The allocation committee was a very important meeting, and naturally, records should have been kept. If the contents were destroyed by agreement, when was this done?" He added, "Not mentioning this when materials were requested is mocking and ridiculing the National Assembly. If destroyed, they should have said there was no content. The ruling party secretary also agreed thinking the materials existed; do you think that makes sense?"
Oh Seok-hwan, Vice Minister of Education, said, "I understand the destruction occurred during the period the allocation committee was operating." He added, "I have explained that there are no minutes, and after much discussion, materials summarizing the meeting results were submitted at the request of the members. I must say that we do not have detailed materials about the process of the meetings." Regarding Kim's accusation of violating the Public Records Management Act and his question, "What were you afraid of to destroy the records?" he replied, "We judged that minutes are not subject to recording under the Public Records Management Act, and we acknowledge that part."
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