Education Committee Bill Subcommittee Passes 'AI Textbook' Educational Material Regulation Bill Solely by Opposition Party

The National Assembly's Education Committee's Bill Review Subcommittee on the 26th passed a revision to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, defining artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks as educational materials, through a ruling by the opposition party alone.

Kim Young-ho, Chairman of the National Assembly Education Committee, is striking the gavel at the plenary meeting of the Education Committee held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The revision to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, proposed by Go Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stipulates that AI digital textbooks are classified as educational materials rather than textbooks. The difference lies in that textbooks must be used mandatorily by schools, whereas educational materials can be selected at the discretion of the school principal. The revision requires that if electronic books are to be used as textbooks, the school principal must seek deliberation from the school operation committee.

Members of the People Power Party protested the opposition party's unilateral handling by leaving the meeting room. The People Power Party's position is that AI digital textbooks should be recognized as textbooks if they are to be introduced in some grades of elementary, middle, and high schools starting next year. On the other hand, the Democratic Party opposes this, citing concerns that AI digital textbooks may cause a decline in students' literacy and that their introduction and distribution would require enormous budgets.