President Roh Moo Hyun proposed to Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) of the National Assembly Kim Hyo Seuk that he be the next Deputy Prime Minister for Education and Human Resources Development but the move backfired. The MDP, naturally, and even the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) charged that the president had "political motive," and it got to the point where he had to explain himself at a gathering with reporters. He said he had absolutely no intention of attempting a merger of his ruling Uri Party and the MDP, and that he made no additional demands of Kim.
Even if you accept Roh's explanation, however, this latest attempt at an appointment appears to have been a bad move. And it is reason for worry when the search for a replacement education minister after the fiasco with Lee Ki Jun again causes an outcry.
Kim Hyo Seuk's area of expertise is economic matters, education. They say that of the two main aspects of education the president chose to place more emphasis on the industrial angle, that he wants someone who will read the demands the economy and our society are making on university education for what they are and implement policy accordingly. When faced with public outcry over his appointment of Lee Ki Jun the president supported him, saying "university education is an industry" and that "having entered the era of competition, our universities need to be reformed, reorganized, and brought to advanced levels."
One finds it hard to agree with the president's position here. You only need to take a look at the crisis our universities are facing and it becomes perfectly clear that they are in desperate need of reform. However, the
position of Deputy Prime Minister of Education and Human Resources Development is not a place where all you have to do is make universities that produce the best in human resources. Key to the problems with Korean university education is a social culture that seeks to preserve the pre-modern hierarchy of the country's schools of higher education. You can only have competitive universities if there is a normalization of elementary, middle, and high school education. Reforming universities alone will not do the trick. It is also biased to want to reform universities based on market logic.
After the fiasco with Lee, civic society had hoped the person who replaced him would be someone with firm philosophy and is ethical about education. It would be well worth pondering how the president went looking for someone far and wide, someone not within the range of people some might consider to be those of the same ideological leanings.
The Hankyoreh, 24 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Wrong About Ed Ministry Appointment |
