Age 5 School System Reform 'Too Strange'... Park Yong-jin Says "Children Will Be Caught in Systematic Unfairness and Inequality"

"School System Reform Must Be Carried Out Carefully"
"If Discussing Childcare Burden, Working Hours of Dual-Income Couples Must Be Reduced First"

Park Yong-jin, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Park Yong-jin, a Democratic Party presidential candidate, criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's reform of the school system for five-year-olds on the 30th, saying, "Education is a long-term plan, so how can you announce an issue that has 'never been officially discussed with the Office of Education' (Deputy Prime Minister Park Soon-ae) like roasting beans over a lightning fire, causing confusion in frontline schools and homes?" Park pointed out, "If you want to talk about childcare burdens, please reduce the working hours of dual-income couples before reforming the school system."

Through social media (SNS), Park said, "The reform of the school system, which has continued for decades since liberation, must be carried out cautiously," adding, "Collecting opinions from parents and teachers must be a prerequisite. I don't understand what kind of case it is to announce the reform of the school system for five-year-olds without gathering opinions from teachers and parents."

He said, "The policy itself is too strange," and criticized, "If you want to send children earlier, it is the right direction to send all children in the same year early. Mixing children of different ages for admission causes confusion, and from 2025 to 2028, children in the same class will be engulfed in systematic unfairness and inequality."

Park said, "This is because the differences in development and achievement according to the child's school age were not considered at all. Once again, we have to ask, 'What exactly are the fairness and common sense of the Yoon Seok-yeol government?'" He added, "Due to differences in achievement in the early stages after school enrollment, children in transition will be caught in 'systematic unfairness' that disadvantages them in college admissions and employment."

He asked, "Does the government really understand the reality of newlyweds and dual-income couples?" and said, "The Ministry of Education cites the increase in dual-income couples as a reason, but in reality, with short school hours, once the child's studies are over, they have to be rushed around to after-school care rooms, Taekwondo, art academies, piano academies, and so on."

He criticized, "In the Yoon Seok-yeol government, which is systematically opening the door to an overwork society under the pretext of flexible working hours rather than reducing working hours, how can 'childcare burden' be cited as a reason for reforming the school system?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.