Departments Like Church Music No Longer Recognized
Major Denominational Universities to Be Excluded as Religious Institutions under Revision
Korean Churches Association: "A Dialogue Channel Must Be Established to Seek Alternatives"
The Korean Churches Association asserted on September 4 that the Ministry of Education should "suspend the process and establish a dialogue channel to seek practical alternatives" regarding the proposed partial revision of the 'Designation Notice for University Corporations Training Religious Leaders.'
On this day, the Korean Churches Association, through a statement issued under the name of Representative President Kim Jonghyuk, stated, "By relying solely on fragmented criteria and failing to consider the historical uniqueness and expertise of theological universities, the government is undermining the unique identity and autonomy that have been developed over a long history." The statement continued, "In particular, by nullifying the right to recommend board members-a right that has protected the distinctiveness of universities affiliated with each denomination-this revision will ultimately undermine the purpose of training religious leaders based on the theology upheld by each denomination."
The Korean Churches Association called for the immediate withdrawal of the revision and urged that the process and results of this administrative measure be made public to avoid any appearance of religious education suppression. The association also demanded immediate dialogue with the denominations operating theological universities.
According to the revised designation notice, which the Ministry of Education pre-announced on August 28, universities will no longer be designated as institutions for training religious leaders if they include departments other than theology. For example, if a university includes departments such as church music or social welfare, it may be excluded from being recognized as a religious university.
Under the revision, major denominational seminaries such as Seoul Jangshin University, Youngnam Theological University, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Chongshin University, Korea Baptist Theological University, and Hanil Jangshin University-which were previously included as universities for training religious leaders-will be excluded. As a result, the number of universities designated for training religious leaders will be reduced from 11 to 6, and the number of graduate universities from 9 to 5. The total number of designated school corporations will decrease from 21 to 11.
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