Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for Minister of Education, said on the 16th, “I think English kindergartens should operate within the scope of public education.”
On this day, at the personnel hearing held by the Education Committee in the National Assembly, when Cho Jung-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, asked, “Is an English kindergarten necessary?”, Lee made the statement.
When Representative Cho asked, “Are you saying that you will nationalize English kindergartens? Are there any public English kindergartens in Korea?”, Lee responded, “Since private education has intensified, we need to replace it with public education, which means that English education can also be included in public education.”
English kindergartens are considered one of Korea’s representative expensive private educations. These are English academies for young children, commonly referred to as English kindergartens. In Korea, some even send children who have not been potty trained to English kindergartens.
When Representative Cho asked, “Why do you think your daughter insisted on studying abroad in the U.S.? What is better about the education there than in Korea?”, Lee said, “I think it would be difficult to explain in a word.”
She added that when Cho asked, “What made you choose that option, given that public education in Korea is less than in the U.S.?”, Lee said, “I apologize to the extent that I have no words.”
Lee also stated when Representative Cho asked, “Are private high schools and specialized high schools targets for abolishment or for development?”, “I think we need to think carefully about it.” When Cho followed up, “Do you have no thoughts, or have you not considered it?”, Lee replied, “I studied a lot”, but added, “I will think more cautiously.”