EDUCATION MINISTRY ON SCHOOL AGE

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The education ministry says it's difficult to push through its plan to revise the school starting age to 5. The vice education minister made the remark at the National Assembly on Tuesday, only a day after Park Soon-ae offered to resign as education minister. Another controversy erupted when the media captured the presidential education secretary's note to the vice minister, advising him not to mention the revision of the school system.

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The National Assembly's Education Committee held a meeting just a day after Education Minister Park Soon-ae offered to resign. The committee's chair Yoo Ki-hong demanded the vice education minister, who attended the meeting instead of Park, clarify the ministry's stance on changing the school starting age to five.

[Soundbite] Yoo Ki-hong(Chair, Education Committee(DP)) : "Is the policy to revise the school starting age to 5 actually scrapped?"

Vice Minister Jang Sang-yoon essentially said the policy has been scrapped, although he simply said that it is hard to discard the policy immediately.

[Soundbite] Jang Sang-yoon(Vice Minister of Education) : "We determined that it has become realistically difficult to proceed with the policy."

The committee also demanded that the ministry apologize for the policy failure that caused the minister to step down.

[Soundbite] Kang Deuk-gu(Education Committee member(DP)) : "You are officially the vice minister and acting minister. Are you going to apologize officially or not?"

[Soundbite] Jang Sang-yoon(Vice Minister of Education) : "I’d like to say that we’re sorry. I apologize."

Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties fired questions about who was responsible for announcing the plan.

[Soundbite] Kim Byong-wook(Education Committee member(PPP)) : "The ministry caused division, conflict and confusion by briefing the policy to the president."

[Soundbite] Min Hyung-bae(Education Committee member(Independent)) : "I’m asking who proposed this when you were preparing the briefing."

[Soundbite] Jang Sang-yoon(Vice Minister of Education) : "An individual does not single-handedly propose an idea."

Another controversy ensued when a note sent from the presidential education secretary to the vice minister was discovered. The note advised against mentioning the school system change.

[Soundbite] Kim Young-ho(Education Committee member(DP)) : "This suggests that the vice minister is a puppet and presidential secretaries are wield the power."

[Soundbite] Jang Sang-yoon(Vice Minister of Education) : "It was merely an opinion. I decide whether to answer or not."

With the revision essentially being scrapped, the nationwide coalition of those in opposition of the plan has suspended its protest.