Gyeongnam Parent Group: "Do Not Incite Children to Join President's Resignation Rally"

The Gyeongnam School Operation Committee Chairpersons Association, the Gyeongnam Future Education Parents Association, and other parent organizations in the province held a press conference opposing middle and high school students' participation in rallies calling for the president's resignation. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “Do not use our children for political purposes based on your own political ideology.”

Parent organizations in Gyeongnam Province expressed concern over the candlelight vigil planned for November 5th, calling for the resignation of President Yoon Seok-yeol, and made this statement.

On the 27th, six organizations including the Gyeongnam School Operation Committee Chairpersons Association and the Gyeongnam Future Education Parents Association held a press conference at the provincial council briefing room, criticizing the actions of the Candlelight High School Student Citizens' Solidarity.

They emphasized, “High school students are the future of the Republic of Korea,” and stated, “The learning rights of young students should not be infringed upon, nor should their school years be used to incite ideological indoctrination.”

Poster for the 1st Yoon Seok-yeol Resignation Candlelight Rally for Middle and High School Students. [Image source=SNS]

On the 20th, posters encouraging middle and high school students to participate in a candlelight vigil demanding President Yoon’s resignation were shared mainly on social media.

The posters included phrases such as ‘Dress code: school uniform’ and ‘What to bring: a notebook to sit on.’

Another poster stated, ‘Participate in the candlelight vigil and get volunteer hours credited.’

The Gyeongnam parent organizations said, “Participation in this politically charged event cannot be recognized as volunteer hours, but there may still be some who misunderstand this,” adding, “Teachers who are supposed to maintain political neutrality should not lead students according to their own ideology.”

They also claimed, “They call it a mass struggle educational revolution theory led by middle and high school students, advertising that although a student alone will inevitably lose, if they unite and fight, they can bring down any school, and if all middle and high school students unite nationwide, they can overthrow the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender Equality and create a student-led world.”

“There are also reports that students are raising funds to support the success of the candlelight solidarity rallies,” they said, “This is adults using children as puppets under the guise of student solidarity.”

The organizations appealed, “We, as parents, will help our children focus on their studies and protect them from being swept up by wrongful agitation and judgment,” and urged, “Please do not let students, who are already busy adapting to a changing era, get hurt by being caught up in adults’ political battles.”

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