"Private Education Cartel, Perfectly Controlled"
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho stated, "I believe the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) maintained an appropriate level of difficulty."
On the 20th, Deputy Prime Minister Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' and commented on the CSAT held on the 14th, saying, "We excluded killer questions (ultra-difficult questions) and made great efforts to dismantle the private education cartel. I think these efforts are reflected well in the results of the CSAT."
Regarding the dismantling of the 'private education cartel,' he said, "Private education institutions had a negative influence on the CSAT question setting, but we now believe we have completely controlled that aspect."
He added, "From a broad perspective, weakened public education has sometimes encouraged private education, but by strengthening public education through classroom revolutions such as the introduction of AI digital textbooks, we can consistently reduce private education."
Concerning the controversy over the internet address link in the CSAT Korean language section that directed to a site promoting the 'Yoon Seok-yeol President Resignation Rally,' he explained, "We are currently reviewing measures to fundamentally secure the sites (domains) to prevent similar incidents from recurring."
Regarding the medical community's claim that the scale of medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year should be reduced, he reiterated that it is difficult to accept. Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "Admissions are extremely important in our society, must be predictable according to legal regulations, and must be fair. From that perspective, the medical community's claims are truly unacceptable to the government."
He continued, "The reason the government holds the authority to finalize medical school quotas is due to the supply and demand of personnel related to public life and safety, and accordingly, the government requests universities to train a set number of students." He also added, "How can the government break the law to meet the demands of a specific group? We continue to participate in the ruling and opposition party parliamentary council to explain this point."
Regarding the ongoing conflict at Dongduk Women's University over opposition to transitioning to coeducation, he said, "Rather than the government stepping in to resolve the issue, we take the position of supporting the university to resolve it autonomously."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
