Gwangju KTU Urges Full Investigation by City Office of Education
"We Cannot Entrust Children to Organizations That Distort History and Manipulate Comments"
As suspicions arose that instructors from the far-right organization Libax School had been assigned to elementary schools, the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) called on the Gwangju Office of Education to conduct a full investigation and to abolish the "Neulbom School" policy.
A signboard of Libax School, a conservative-leaning organization, is displayed at an office in a building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 2nd, amid reports of comment manipulation related to Libax School. Photo by Yonhap News
On June 2, the Gwangju branch of the KTU issued a statement, saying, "The Gwangju Office of Education must immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into institutions training Neulbom instructors within its jurisdiction, and must take the lead in abolishing the Neulbom policy."
The KTU pointed out, "According to media reports, a far-right private organization that glorifies dictatorship, distorts the May 18 Democratization Movement by labeling it a riot, and has systematically manipulated online comments, has been deeply involved in training instructors for the Ministry of Education's Neulbom School program. There is evidence that these instructors have actually been assigned to elementary schools."
The statement continued, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration forcibly pushed the Neulbom policy into schools under the pretext of 'state care,' and the Ministry of Education effectively condoned the training of instructors by far-right organizations. The Gwangju Office of Education faithfully followed this and invested a large budget," criticizing the authorities.
The KTU warned, "If the Gwangju Office of Education, which claims to be committed to democratic civic education, entrusts and neglects children to forces that promote historical distortion and hatred, it cannot escape serious responsibility. If immediate action is not taken even now, we will take strong measures." The statement added, "The next government, which will be launched after the early presidential election, must prepare practical alternatives for normalizing public education and systematizing childcare."
Meanwhile, investigative media outlet Newstapa reported on May 30 that Libax School trained instructors based on educational content praising former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee and distorting the May 18 Democratization Movement, assigning them to 10 elementary schools in Seoul. The report also stated that Libax School organized a comment manipulation team called "Jasonsgun" (an abbreviation for "Free Fingers Army Saving the Nation through Comments") that conducted online activities supporting People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moonsoo.
It was also confirmed that Son Hyosook, the head of Libax School, signed a business agreement with Seoul National University of Education in February, under the name "Korea Neulbom Education Association," supplying Neulbom School programs and instructors to schools. As a result, the Ministry of Education has begun a related inspection.
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