[Reporter’s Notebook] Repeated Textbook Policy Failures Harm Both Private Sector and Government

"Aren't both the industry and the government suffering because of half-baked policies?"

Such complaints have recently been voiced among publishers of artificial intelligence digital textbooks (AI textbooks). This reaction stems from the government's AI textbook policy being drastically scaled back from its originally promised level, putting companies at risk of incurring massive losses.

During the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, the Ministry of Education announced that AI textbooks would be fully introduced in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. Amid the government's push to make AI textbooks a core task of "digital-based educational innovation," companies invested tens of billions to hundreds of billions of won in developing AI textbooks.

However, as backlash from teachers, parents, and opposition parties intensified, the government retreated to a "school-level voluntary adoption" policy. As a result, the adoption rate of AI textbooks in schools remained in the 30% range. It was later revealed that this issue eventually escalated into a legal battle between the industry and the government. In April, some companies filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court seeking to cancel the government's order for voluntary implementation of AI digital textbooks.

An official from one of the companies involved in the lawsuit said, "We are barely able to supply AI textbooks, so there is no way to recoup our development costs," adding, "We are also considering filing a civil lawsuit against the government in the future."

This is not the first time that public-private conflict has arisen over textbook policy. The Lee Myung-bak administration implemented a textbook liberalization policy in 2009 and pursued textbook modernization measures the following year, shifting from a joint publication system to a publisher-led supply system.

After textbook prices soared, the Park Geun-hye administration in 2014 unilaterally demanded price cuts from publishers, who responded by filing lawsuits. In 2019, the Supreme Court overturned the Ministry of Education's price adjustment order, and the Moon Jae-in administration resolved the situation by paying publishers a settlement of 240 billion won.

The government repeatedly shakes up the industry with shortsighted policies, forcing companies to engage in protracted legal battles as a matter of survival, while the resulting compensation is ultimately paid with taxpayers' money.

Not every government policy must be absolutely firm and unchanging. However, if there is one area that particularly requires caution, it is education. The future of students can be shaped by the type of education they receive in schools.

Policies concerning learning tools that form the foundation of education, such as textbooks, need to be planned and implemented with even greater care. Sufficient discussion and consensus must precede development and adoption, and procedures and structures of accountability commensurate with the weight of the policy must be established.

During his presidential campaign, President Lee Jaemyung pledged to resolve the confusion caused by the hasty introduction of AI textbooks and to establish a public platform for the use of online learning content. Regardless of the approach the Lee Jaemyung administration chooses, it is hoped that lessons will be learned from the mistakes of previous governments, and that the focus will be on direction rather than speed, on procedural legitimacy and social consensus rather than efficiency, and on stability above all.