Gwangju Education Office and Civic Group Clash Over 'Mobile Ringback Tone' Policy

Civic Group: "No Results, Budget Waste... Concerns Over Electioneering"
"Violation of Political Neutrality, Project Must Be Fully Reviewed"
Education Office: "Brand Song and Integrity Messages Promote Public Interest"
"Voluntary Participation, Minimal Budget... Absolutely No Disadvantages"

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education and a civic group have come into direct conflict over the office's decision to set employees' mobile phone ringback tones to the "Gwangju Education Brand Song" as a promotional measure. The civic group criticized the move, stating, "Spending tax money on a project with unclear results is a waste of the budget and amounts to electioneering." In response, the education office argued, "This is a reasonable means of widely promoting educational values."

Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education

The Citizens' Coalition for a Society without Academic Elitism issued a statement on September 19, pointing out, "Among the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide, only the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education is implementing this project." The group added, "This has been pursued for a second year without any performance evaluation or feasibility review, raising serious concerns about budget waste."

The group went on to say, "About 4 million won was spent in 2024, and another 3 million won this year, which is a significant amount that cannot be considered mere publicity expenses." They claimed, "With the superintendent election coming up next year, this could be seen as an attempt to promote a specific individual." The group also argued, "Although participation is said to be voluntary, anxiety is spreading among employees that it could affect personnel decisions," and called for a reconsideration of the project.

In response, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education countered, "This is not simple publicity, but an effort to spread educational and public values in everyday life." The office explained, "The intention is to consistently share the brand song, which supports students' dreams, and messages of integrity with citizens."

Regarding the budget, the office explained, "The funds were not diverted from other departments but were reassigned through legal procedures, and the amount is extremely small compared to typical publicity expenses." The office emphasized, "The application rate is only 8 to 10 percent of employees, and there is absolutely no disadvantage since participation is voluntary." They further stressed, "This has nothing to do with the election, and we are undergoing review by the National Election Commission to ensure compliance with the Public Official Election Act."

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