Education Should Not Be Divided by Ideology

Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education Kim Sang-gon recently criticized the perception of him as a progressive leftist.

Superintendent Kim held a press briefing at the Anyang and Gwacheon Office of Education on the 3rd, stating, "Education should not be divided by ideology such as progressivism or conservatism." He added, "Rather than dividing educational policy politically into progressive or conservative, we should focus on revitalizing public education."

Regarding the Student Rights Ordinance and the refusal to discipline Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) teachers related to political declarations, he argued this was "common sense thinking, not progressive judgment," explaining that "we must seriously consider the fact that students also possess humanity, and educators have rights as citizens before being teachers or civil servants."

He continued, "Currently, Gyeonggi education lacks even the foundation to implement progressive or conservative policies. Looking at student suicides alone, the student suicide rate in the province last year increased by 50% compared to 2008," he revealed.

He further stated, "Violent incidents have also increased significantly both inside and outside schools, and even psychiatrists say that half of the students deserve counseling. For free school meals, South Gyeongsang Province is implementing it for all elementary school students, North Jeolla Province covers 60% of the entire population, South Chungcheong covers over 40%, but Gyeonggi Province only reaches 4%."

Finally, Superintendent Kim emphasized, "I announced a five-year plan for free school meals and presented an innovative school model to normalize collapsed public education. This is the time to establish a foundation for revitalizing collapsed public education rather than pursuing ideology," he reiterated.