Lee Ju-ho Faces Conflict of Interest Controversy Over 'Asia Education Association'... Calls for Appointment Withdrawal

Donors and Sponsors Also Join K-Edu Platform Advisory Panel
Asia Education Association's Operating Assets Co-Invested 60-40 with EduTech CEO A
Association Pays 130 Million for Research Equipment Rental to Company Donating 100 Million
Higher Education Groups Demand Withdrawal of Candidate Lee's Appointment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Ju-ho, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, has been embroiled in a conflict of interest controversy. It was revealed that companies that donated sponsorship funds to the Asia Education Association, which the nominee belonged to, also participated in the advisory group for the 'K-Edu Platform,' a national project under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

According to the Justice Party Policy Committee on the 26th, all representatives of edutech companies who donated funds and sponsorships to nominee Lee participated in the K-Edu integrated platform advisory group. The advisory council consisted of a total of 119 members, including Mr. A from the Edutech Industry Association, who contributed 24 million KRW at the founding of the Asia Education Association and is included as an academic and scholarly advisor. Mr. A operates a franchise math specialty academy and 74 directly managed comprehensive elementary, middle, and high schools. An executive from Mr. A’s company was also listed as a private sector advisory member. An executive from Ice Cream Edu, a smart learning company that donated 100 million KRW to the Asia Education Association, was also included as a private sector advisory member.

The K-Edu Platform is a national project of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, scheduled for full launch in 2025. It is a digital integrated teaching and learning platform that provides a customized learning environment based on AI (artificial intelligence) and big data. Companies that donated or sponsored nominee Lee appear to have shown interest in the K-Edu platform and helped to enter the public education market. The total project cost for this platform is 600.9 billion KRW. Teachers, students, and parents will receive educational support through this platform, generating big data on schools and students. Schools will pay usage fees when purchasing desired content or tools, which naturally attracts strong interest from private education companies.

A representative from the Justice Party Policy Committee pointed out, "Private education companies could become a foothold to enter the school market, which is a large market with 5.8 million students and 500,000 teachers, and this could cause controversy in the education sector. Big data on students’ study habits and incorrect answers not only contains personal information but also economic value, so depending on how it is used, difficult situations could arise."

The Asia Education Association, which was launched with the aim of resolving educational disparities, is also at the center of the conflict of interest controversy. Although it is known as a public interest corporation active after the Minister of Education’s retirement, the edutech company representative Mr. A and the association jointly contributed operating assets at a 60:40 ratio. Mr. A also donated 5 million KRW when nominee Lee ran as a preliminary candidate for Seoul Superintendent of Education. From April 2020 to July last year, the Asia Education Association received 298 million KRW in sponsorships, including 100 million KRW from Ice Cream Edu. The association also paid 136 million KRW as compensation for lending equipment for six research projects.

The confirmation hearing preparation team explained, "The selection of Ice Cream Edu’s learning devices for research projects was decided by researchers considering the demand from local governments and institutions issuing research and project orders, as well as the relatively low rental costs of the devices. The nominee served as an unpaid, non-executive chairman and, through board and general meeting resolutions, worked to promote various public interest projects aimed at reducing educational disparities in line with the association’s founding purpose. The nominee resigned from the chairman position immediately upon nomination."

Nominee Lee stated, "If appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, I will never represent the interests of any specific group and will listen to opinions from all sectors and carry out my duties transparently."

Meanwhile, higher education organizations such as the National Professors’ Labor Union and the National University Labor Union held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main gate on the same day, demanding the withdrawal of nominee Lee’s appointment. They criticized, "He is the very person who distorted and devastated Korean education since his involvement in past education policies, and he bears full responsibility for the current problems of poorly managed universities by effectively designing the university establishment principle in 1995, which made it easier to establish universities."

They added, "During his tenure as chairman of the Asia Education Association, he participated in research projects commissioned to the association and received research funds, arranged for international competition judges based on the amounts companies paid to the Asia Education Association, and raised conflict of interest controversies by receiving large donations from edutech company officials during the Seoul Superintendent of Education election. If he becomes minister, there are concerns that the Ministry of Education could become an institution that protects companies with vested interests related to the minister."

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