Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education Park Jong-hoon Takes Direct Action, Asks About 'Abolishment of Village Education Community Ordinance'

Park Jong-hoon, Superintendent of Education for Gyeongnam, personally took the initiative to hear local residents' opinions regarding the 'Abolition of the Ordinance on Supporting the Activation of Gyeongnam Village Education Communities.'

The ordinance supporting village education communities was abolished at the 1st plenary session of the 418th Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly temporary session on the 15th, with 46 votes in favor, 5 against, and 11 abstentions out of 62 members present.

After the plenary session ended, Superintendent Park immediately held a press conference in the briefing room of the Provincial Office of Education, stating that he would directly ask the residents of the province for their opinions on the ordinance's abolition.

At that time, he said, “I will listen as much as possible to the voices of parents and residents with a rational moderate tendency, and if they say that the ordinance and village education community activities are unreasonable or should be abolished, I will accept it. Otherwise, I will request a reconsideration.”

Park Jong-hoon, Superintendent of Gyeongnam Education, is speaking about the abolition of the Gyeongnam Village Education Community Support Ordinance in the large conference room of the Goseong Office of Education.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Office of Education]

According to the Gyeongnam Office of Education, Superintendent Park will start on the 21st by visiting the Goseong Education Support Office and will visit all 18 city and county education support offices in the province by early November to hear opinions from residents, parents, faculty and staff, local council members, local government officials, and regional media.

An official from the provincial office of education said, “We judged that if the ordinance is finally abolished, it will have a significant impact on the entire Gyeongnam education system,” adding, “After fully hearing the opinions of residents and parents regarding the ordinance's abolition, we plan to prepare a request for reconsideration.”

Furthermore, the official added, “This series of meetings by city and county will not only gather opinions on the ordinance's abolition but will also be a meaningful occasion to pursue sustainable future education,” and “We plan to continue to maintain and strengthen the cooperative system with the local community thereafter.”

At the 1st plenary session of the 418th Gyeongnam Provincial Council extraordinary meeting, the ordinance to abolish the ordinance on supporting the activation of the Gyeongnam Village Education Community was passed.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The Ordinance on Supporting the Activation of Gyeongnam Village Education Communities was enacted in July 2021 to create an educational ecosystem where schools, villages, the education office, and local governments in the community unite and cooperate.

Based on this, budgets were allocated for operating future education districts, establishing and running Happy Village Schools, and supporting educational cooperatives.

However, controversies arose over the neutrality of education due to the fact that a village instructor declared support for Superintendent Park during his candidacy, and that a person involved in the so-called Changwon Spy Group incident was active as a village instructor. There were also disputes over the implementation of ideological and value education, and the inadequacy of hiring and management standards to secure instructor expertise.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly announced the legislative notice for the ordinance's abolition on September 19, collected opinions, and then submitted the abolition proposal to the plenary session through the results of the 9th Ordinance Maintenance Special Committee meeting that morning.

On that day, the Office of Education proposed reform measures including establishing a clause to maintain educational neutrality, revising and deleting politically inclined terms in the ordinance, consulting with local governments on regional village learning centers, and operating a permanent monitoring group. However, these were criticized as a “belated response” and failed to persuade the assembly.

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