EDUCATION MINISTER OFFERS TO RESIGN

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Education Minister Park Soon-ae has offered to resign only 35 days after taking office, following backlash against her policy to lower the school starting age. Upon announcing her resignation, Park said it was all her fault and she was to blame for all the controversy. Park is the first minister of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to step down disgracefully.

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Education Minister Park Soon-ae was pressured to resign for her push to lower the nation’s school starting age to five. She tendered her resignation on Monday, 35 days after taking office.

[Soundbite] Park Soon-ae(Education Minister(Aug. 8)) : "I am offering to resign from deputy prime minister of social affairs and the education minister post. It is my fault and I am to blame for the controversy over the school system reorganization."

Park said she hopes for a better future of children in Korea. However, she neither apologized for the policy confusion nor responded to reporters’ questions.

[Soundbite] "When did you decide to resign?"

Park announced the policy to lower the school starting age at a briefing to the president on July 29th.

[Soundbite] Park Soon-ae(Education Minister(July 29)) : "The gov’t will begin discussions in earnest on lowering the school starting age by one year."

However, critics strongly opposed the move saying it is a premature policy that lacks consideration for child development and the reality of the nation’s education sector. In the face of backlash, the minister mentioned the possibility of discarding the policy just four days after the initial announcement.

[Soundbite] Park Soon-ae(Education Minister(Aug. 2)) : "I could discard the policy if the people strongly oppose it."

Park faced calls to resign from the education and political sectors, after announcing a policy to abolish foreign language high schools, which again invited strong protest from parents. Park was named as education minister, after the previous nominee Kim In-chul had resigned over allegations of favoritism surrounding his children’s reception of scholarships. Even before the nomination, Park's drunk driving record, accusations of plagiarism and authoritarian treatment of her assistants came into question. However, she was appointed on July fourth without a parliamentary confirmation hearing. In addition to the controversy over her morals, Park failed to overcome public resistance to her policies and became the first minister of the Yoon administration to step down. Following her resignation, teachers’ organizations issued statements and urged the government to take responsibility for the personnel failure and withdraw its policy to reorganize the school system.