Today’s Education, Society, and Culture Government Questioning... Medical School Expansion and New Right Controversy Expected

Opposition Party to Highlight 'Emergency Room Roundabout'
Deepfake Sexual Crime Inquiries Expected to Follow

The government questioning session that began this week will conclude with inquiries into the education, social, and cultural sectors. The government and the ruling and opposition parties are expected to engage in debates over medical school expansion and history textbook issues.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is responding to a question from Lee Eon-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the government economic sector questioning session held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 12th, the National Assembly will hold a plenary session to conduct government questioning on education, social, and cultural matters.

The ruling and opposition parties are anticipated to clash over medical school expansion in the education sector. The People Power Party argues that since early admissions have already started, adjusting next year's medical school expansion could lead to social confusion. On the other hand, the opposition insists that the expansion should be reconsidered from the ground up to resolve the medical crisis. Additionally, issues such as emergency room non-admissions, commonly referred to as 'emergency room spinning,' are expected to be highlighted.

The history textbook issue is also a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties. The new textbook by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation has sparked controversy from the New Right for not labeling the Rhee Syngman administration as a 'dictatorship.' The opposition criticizes the entire approval process and calls for accountability from those responsible. Conversely, the ruling party argues that differences in expression should be accepted and that there was nothing problematic in the approval process. A heated debate surrounding the New Right controversy is also expected. The Democratic Party views the recently appointed Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo and Kim Hyung-seok, director of the Independence Hall, as 'pro-Japanese figures.'

Meanwhile, both ruling and opposition parties are expected to continue inquiries into social issues such as deepfake sex crimes. On the 1st, People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung agreed during a leaders' meeting to enhance systems related to punishment, sanctions, and prevention of deepfake sex crimes. However, their approaches to solutions differ somewhat. The ruling party emphasizes strengthening penalties for those possessing sexually exploitative materials, while the opposition points out the lack of infrastructure to support victims.