Education minister's 'like' on post criticizing national curriculum body sparks SNS controversy

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin has sparked controversy after liking a social media post criticizing the National Education Commission, the body currently pushing agenda items such as earlier school dismissal times for lower-grade elementary students and an expansion of essay-based assessments.

According to education circles Friday, Choi liked a Facebook post Thursday afternoon written by Kim Hyeon-hui, a former head of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union's Daejeon chapter, that criticized the commission.

The post said the commission "put hanja alongside Korean text in textbooks back on the table, and now it's pushing an agenda to let lower-grade elementary students leave school at 3 p.m.," adding that the body "will end up becoming a nuisance."

It also said the commission's recent conduct resembled "not a long-term, carefully designed approach, but something closer to throwing out agenda items at random and watching how the public reacts."

As of Friday morning, about 100 people had liked the post, with Choi still among them. Choi is a former teacher who was dismissed from his position at the union.

Some in education circles have said that while Choi has been active on social media to promote his policies, his online activity has instead produced a string of controversies.

Ahead of the Sejong superintendent of education election in June, Choi liked a Facebook post endorsing a unified progressive candidate and left a comment reading "Wonderful. Thank you," drawing criticism for violating his duty of political neutrality before he later apologized.