'MB Competitive Education Architect' Lee Ju-ho "Ilje Exam, It Was Right Back Then"

Criticism of Iljegosa and Autonomous Private High School Policies at the Hearing
"Did Our Best but Not Satisfied with Educational Outcomes"
"Acknowledge Side Effects of High School Diversification, Autonomy, and Ranking"

Lee Ju-ho, the nominee for Minister of Education, appeared at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 28th and took the witness oath. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] "Are you willing to apologize to the public and children for the competitive education?" (Ahn Min-seok, Democratic Party lawmaker)

"At the time, the diversification and autonomy policies had side effects that led to a competitive system." (Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education nominee)

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education nominee, acknowledged the side effects of the 'ranking' style education policy that caused educational polarization.

At the confirmation hearing held on the 28th by the National Assembly's Education Committee, Lee said regarding the implementation of the ranking-style nationwide standardized tests and high school diversification policies during the MB administration, "We did our best, but the current educational outcomes are not satisfactory."

When Ahn Min-seok of the Democratic Party asked if he was willing to apologize for the competitive education at that time, Lee responded "I feel sorry" only after being asked the same question three times. He added, "We did our best, and please understand that there were side effects."

Regarding the nationwide standardized academic achievement assessment known as the 'Ilje Test,' he said, "It was right at the time," but mentioned the written test method as the cause of the problem, drawing criticism for giving an irrelevant answer.

On Ahn's question about whether he thought the policy to expand autonomous private high schools (Jasago) and specialized high schools was right, Lee explained, "It was an important means of diversification." When Ahn asked, "Are you saying the Ilje Test was right 10 years ago but wrong now?" Lee replied, "I believe we have been making consistent efforts."

Yoo Ki-hong, chairman of the Education Committee (Democratic Party), pointed out, "During the MB administration when the nominee was minister, the government made education offices compete on scores, education superintendents made schools compete, and principals made classes compete. During this national audit, when we asked superintendents nationwide about their opinions on the Ilje Test, both conservatives and progressives opposed it. We need to reflect on that."

In response, Lee said, "The intention was to actively support students who were found to be lagging through evaluation," and explained, "I acknowledge there were side effects, but since the evaluation was a written test conducted simultaneously, there was competitive pressure."

Regarding Democratic Party lawmaker Park Kwang-on's criticism that the expansion of autonomous private high schools caused educational hierarchy and widened educational gaps, Lee responded, "When diversification policies were introduced, they were meant to complement equalization, and if problems arise in diversification, I think the direction should be individualization. If customized education is possible for each student, the issues of diversification can also be resolved."

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