Six education commission members resign, slamming 'anti-educational and corrupt institution'

Amid an ongoing special prosecutor probe into National Education Commission Chairperson Lee Bae-yong over allegations of influence peddling, six commission members announced their collective resignation Thursday, calling for sweeping reforms at the agency.

Lee, who previously served as president of Ewha Womans University, was appointed the inaugural chairperson of the commission in September 2022. She abruptly tendered her resignation Monday amid allegations that she had gifted a 37.5 gram (1.3 ounce) gold turtle to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The group of resigning members includes standing commissioner Jung Dae-hwa and non-standing commissioners Kim Seong-cheon, Lee Min-ji, Lee Seung-jae, Jeon Eun-young and Jang Seok-woong. They issued a joint statement Thursday morning declaring their intention to step down.

Of the six, Kim was recommended by a nonparliamentary group, Lee Seung-jae was nominated by the National Assembly speaker, and Lee Min-ji, Jeon and Jang were recommended by the liberal Democratic Party. The commission is composed of one chairperson, two standing commissioners and 16 non-standing commissioners.

In their statement, the six criticized the commission as a “consensus-based administrative body” that was founded to develop education policy through social consensus but has instead faced “unceasing public criticism for incompetence and irresponsibility” throughout its three years of existence.

“Now, with the scandal surrounding Chairperson Lee’s influence peddling, the commission has degenerated into an anti-educational and corrupt institution,” they wrote, warning that the commission “now faces an existential crisis.”

They further apologized to the public, citing the commission’s failure to fulfill its core mission of drafting a national education development plan, as well as controversy over several members applying for candidacy with a specific political party ahead of the April general elections and links to the far-right history education group Rhee Park School.

“It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe the profound shame we feel over the chairperson’s resignation in the wake of a raid over allegations of selling positions,” the members said about Lee’s case.

They added that during an emergency meeting held on Tuesday, members debated for hours but were unable to reach an agreement on fundamental reform measures.

"We can no longer stand by and watch the commission become an irresponsible institution," the members wrote. "With a profound sense of remorse, we are stepping down from our posts and urge all other members to take responsibility for the current crisis and resign as well so that the commission may become a true starting point for the future of Korean education."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY LEE BO-RAM [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]