Ministry of Education admits agencies were not consulted on merger plan

Northeast Asian History Foundation chief warns of damage to core mission

Democratic Party calls for resignation of safety institute head over gapjil findings

Allegations of perjury at last year's audit also raised

People Power Party floor leader Jang Dong-hyeok questions witnesses at the National Assembly Education Committee's national audit on Monday, which covered the Academy of Korean Studies, the Korean Council for University Education and the Northeast Asian History Foundation, among other agencies. [Yonhap]
People Power Party floor leader Jang Dong-hyeok questions witnesses at the National Assembly Education Committee's national audit on Monday, which covered the Academy of Korean Studies, the Korean Council for University Education and the Northeast Asian History Foundation, among other agencies. [Yonhap]

The People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea clashed Monday at the National Assembly Education Committee's national audit over plans to merge Ministry of Education agencies and the dismissal of an agency head. The PPP criticized the government for pushing ahead with consolidation without consulting the affected institutions and raised questions about the dismissal process for Park Ji-hyang, chair of the Northeast Asian History Foundation. The Democratic Party called for the resignation of Heo Seong-woo, head of the Korea Educational Facility Safety Institute, citing confirmed findings of workplace harassment.

PPP lawmaker Lee In-seon criticized a proposal to merge the Korea Educational Facility Safety Institute and the Korea Education Environment Protection Agency into a tentatively named "Education Facility Health and Safety Corporation," saying the plan amounted to "forcibly combining two agencies with different functions and different structures."

Lawmakers also questioned a separate plan to merge the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the Academy of Korean Studies and the Korea Classics Institute. PPP lawmaker Jeong Seong-guk asked whether the foundation could realistically maintain its current capabilities and independence if it became a single department within a merged body.

Foundation Chair Park said she "fully agreed" with that concern. "The Northeast Asian History Foundation was established specifically as a policy institution to counter historical distortions by China and Japan," she said. "If these three agencies are merged, our core functions will be severely undermined." Asked whether the government had adequately sought the foundation's views before deciding on the merger, she said: "There was no such process whatsoever."

The Ministry of Education's planning and coordination director acknowledged that "when drawing up the government's plan, we did not hear the views of each of the individual institutions." He added that since the announcement in September, discussions had begun through a functional reform task force and agency unions, and that the ministry was exploring ways to preserve the strengths of all three organizations.

Education Committee Chair Kim Hee-jeong said there was a fundamental difference between "holding discussions through a TF after the direction of the merger has already been decided — essentially debating how best to carry it out — and starting from scratch on whether to merge at all."

Democratic Party lawmakers then turned to the question of dismissing Heo, the safety institute chief.

Democratic Party lawmaker Baek Seung-a said "the core issue here is not which administration appointed Heo — it is the fact that his gapjil has been confirmed through both the institute's own internal investigation and a labor office probe." She noted that Heo had denied the allegations at last year's national audit while pledging to take responsibility, and demanded that he "step down on his own before he is dismissed." She also raised allegations that his statements at that hearing amounted to perjury.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jeong said the labor office had also confirmed incidents beyond threats of reassignment to regional posts, including a demand that an employee write a report explaining why she had taken marriage leave and remarks Ko described as insulting related to pregnancy. Ko called on the institute to closely monitor the health of the affected employee. The institute said Heo is currently suspended from his duties and has been fined 1.5 million won ($1,120).


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