Education Committee Strongly Condemns 'Emergency Martial Law'... "Aren't You Ashamed of the Children's Light Sticks?" (Comprehensive)

‘AI Textbooks Are Educational Materials’ Sparks Ruling and Opposition Party Dispute

The National Assembly's Education Committee unleashed fierce criticism of President Yoon Seok-yeol's emergency martial law declaration on December 3. Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, ultimately bowed his head and apologized.

At a rally urging the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol held on the 14th in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, participants cheer and wave light sticks upon hearing the news of the passage of the impeachment motion. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the 18th, the National Assembly Education Committee held a plenary session to conduct inquiries on current issues.

According to the Ministry of Education, Deputy Prime Minister Lee did not attend the Cabinet meeting held before the martial law declaration but attended the Cabinet meeting held after the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.

Park Sung-jun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Since martial law must go through the Cabinet meeting, wouldn't all the ministers have been contacted? (It’s suspicious)," adding, "Instead of candles, teenagers and people in their twenties came out to the square holding unextinguishable lights. As the Minister of Education, shouldn't you clearly say that this was wrong? Aren't you ashamed in front of the children?"

Baek Seung-ah, a Democratic Party member, said, "If martial law had not been lifted that day, I might have been dragged to some underground prison," and asked, "At least as a Cabinet member, shouldn't you express regret over this unconstitutional situation?"

Jeong Eung-ho, also from the same party, said, "President Yoon, who was impeached, is the leader of an anti-state force and rebellion who declared unconstitutional and illegal martial law pointing guns at the people, the National Assembly, and its members," and asked, "Do you think President Yoon’s impeachment was unjust?" However, Deputy Prime Minister Lee avoided a direct answer, saying, "The deliberation on impeachment is conducted by the Constitutional Court."

However, as the opposition lawmakers’ pressing questions continued, Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "I deeply apologize as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible for education to the youth, students, and parents who have suffered many difficulties due to this incident," and added, "Going forward, the National Assembly and government will join forces to do our best to support and encourage our future generations to grow freely."

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education. Photo by Yonhap News

During the plenary session that day, a fierce dispute broke out between the ruling and opposition parties over the amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which defined artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks as 'educational materials' rather than 'textbooks.' The amendment was passed by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day despite opposition from People Power Party members.

Kim Yong-tae, a People Power Party member, said, "If AI textbooks are defined as 'educational materials,' there will be strong backlash from developers who have invested huge amounts of money," adding, "The government has already selected them as textbooks, so defining them as educational materials by law afterward raises legal concerns."

Go Min-jung, a Democratic Party member, emphasized, "The amendment is not about banning the use of AI textbooks but about not making their use mandatory."

Kim Young-ho, Chair of the Education Committee, mentioned President Yoon Seok-yeol’s suspension from duty and demanded, "The Ministry of Education should respect the National Assembly’s legislation and persuade the opposition party by other means."

On the same day, the Education Committee resolved to approve a prosecution proposal led by the opposition against Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Province Office of Education, for failing to submit materials during the national audit in October. Park Sung-jun of the Democratic Party had previously demanded that Superintendent Lim submit the disciplinary committee meeting minutes of the Gyeonggi Office of Education, noting that a scholarship officer affiliated with the Gyeonggi Office of Education sent text messages urging support for a specific candidate during the 2022 local elections, received a fine for violating the Public Official Election Act, yet only received a light disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, the Education Committee approved by bipartisan agreement the amendment to the Teachers’ Status Act, which adds support for teachers returning to school after taking leave due to educational activity interference, and the amendment to the School Violence Prevention Act, which includes deepfake videos within the scope of cyberbullying. The amendment to the Higher Education Act, which reduces the Ministry of Education’s authority to supervise higher education institutions to cases of 'urgent and serious reasons' and allows universities to establish integrated bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs as part of higher education innovation measures, was referred to the bill subcommittee.