The education authorities have launched a full investigation into allegations that the conservative educational organization 리박스쿨 tried to manipulate public opinion in the presidential election through comments.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 1st that it was found that 리박스쿨 provided science and arts education programs to 10 늘봄 schools in Seoul through Seoul National University of Education. This program is said to have been created under the name of 'Korea Spring Education Association'.
리박스쿨, an abbreviation of '이승만·박정희 스쿨', is a company established in 2017. It was established with the goal of educating history that supports the two former presidents.
Earlier, the online media NewsTapa reported that on the 30th of last month, 리박스쿨 recruited a comment team called 'the army of free fingers saving the country (자손군)' using the issuance of instructor certification for 늘봄 schools as bait. It was also claimed that members of this comment team taught distorted far-right education to elementary school students while working as after-school instructors at 늘봄 schools.
Additionally, it is reported that there were instructions for comment manipulation in the group chat of those who completed the training program for 늘봄 schools, and that the training process also included far-right content of Korean history.
In response to these allegations, Seoul National University of Education immediately halted the operation of the 리박스쿨 program. It is also said to be considering canceling the memorandum of understanding established for the promotion of related programs.
The Ministry of Education plans to thoroughly check the correlation between all 늘봄 programs and 리박스쿨 as an opportunity to address this allegation. It will also inspect all organizations participating in the 늘봄 program support project and take immediate action if any issues are identified.
The 늘봄 school is a policy introduced by the Yoon Suk-yeol government. It integrates existing elementary school care classes and after-school programs, providing care for students until 8 p.m.