Member of KTFA Appointed as Presidential Chief Secretary for Educational And Cultural Affairs

On Friday, President Roh Moo-hyun appointed Kim Jin-gyeong (52), director of the Association of Writers for National Literature (AWNL), as the presidential chief secretary for educational and cultural affairs.

The newly appointed Kim, who is a poet and a children’s story writer, has a history of leading the establishment of the Korea Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) after spending more than a year in prison for the Populace Education incident in 1985. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development is shocked after hearing Mr. Kim’s appointment. So far, the position of presidential secretary for educational and cultural affairs has been given to an individual from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, as the position acts as a “bridge” between Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development in making policy decisions.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development has recommended officials of first or second grade working for the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development or the organizations under the this ministry for this kind of position, and they were dumbfounded when they heard the news of Kim’s appointment.

A staff member of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development stated, “I’m sure Cheong Wa Dae has come to the decision after careful inspection, but we cannot help but be worried. Since his position requires constant meetings with the head of social policy coordination or the president, we are concerned that this will tarnish the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development’s image.”

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development is concerned that education policies will show favoritism if more voice is given to the KFTA on matters such as teacher evaluation, principal promotion system, and the college entrance system.

Recently, Mr. Kim has pointed out the problems regarding “Kim Jin-pyo’s university reform” in his book, “Riot from the Future,” which expresses negative views that education reform by bureaucracy has no choice but to fail.

△Dangjin, Chungnam △ Korean Language Education Department of Seoul National University △ Winner of Korean literature (Poetry area) △ Professor of Hansung High School, Woosin High School, Yangjung High School △ Instructor of Soongeui Women’s College, Chung-ang University

In-Chul Lee Jung-Hun Kim inchul@donga.com jnghn@donga.com