(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Ko Sang-min = Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin said on the 7th regarding the controversy over group viewings of the movie 'Assassin(s)' in schools, saying, "I think there are limits to the Ministry of Education's ability to interfere in each and every action of going to see the movie or not."
Minister Choi responded to the comment made by Rep. Jeong Seong-guk of the People's Power Party during the National Assembly Education Committee audit that day, saying, "Shouldn't the Ministry of Education be involved in group viewings of these movies in schools?"
However, Minister Choi emphasized, "Students may be confused when it comes to works that contain historical facts and fiction based on them, so it is educationally necessary to distinguish fact from fiction so that they can understand it."
Recently, a high school in Ulsan reportedly promoted a group viewing of 'Assassin(s)' after a student vote, but canceled it as controversy grew.
This movie is based on the shooting incident of Ms. Yuk Young-soo that occurred on August 15, 1974.
The film was embroiled in controversy over distortion of history because it raised questions about the investigation's conclusion that Moon Se-gwang committed the crime alone and implied that former President Park Chung-hee and the Central Intelligence Agency were behind it.
In response to a question from People Power Party Rep. Park Jeong-hoon, who asked, "Do you agree with the director of this film's statement about cinematic imagination and freedom of expression (in relation to the controversy over history distortion)," Minister Choi said, "As a director, I can say that," and added, "There are some parts I agree with in part."
Meanwhile, Minister Choi said in relation to the 'failure' in college admissions for the 2027 academic year that occurred last month, "Rather than entrusting this (receiving rolling applications) to a private company, we will review (measures) including what the government can do right away."
He then emphasized, “We will do everything we can to successfully complete the regular recruitment (starting in January of next year) within the scope where we do not expect another risk to arise in the regular recruitment due to rapid changes (due to the implementation of the measures).”
In response to a question from Education Committee Chairman Kim Hee-jung, who asked, "Are you planning to immediately aim to move to a public application system?" he said, "We will set a goal to apply it as early as next year (even from the 2028 school year)." He added, "There was a problem once in the trial after the introduction of the (private agency system), but this time, since the company's fault is clearly attributable, I think that problem can also be overcome."
Minister Choi said, “Among the various (problems) that were revealed this time, we are trying as much as possible to revise many of the parts of the manual, such as changing the announcement of reception (status) by time slot to allowing it to be done the next day after everything is completed.”
At the same time, he apologized for the 'intermittent failure' incident, saying, "I am truly sorry and have nothing to say even if I have 10 mouths. I feel a very heavy sense of responsibility."
He said, “For now, we are trying to handle the current situation as much as possible,” and added, “We are doing our best to prevent something like that from happening in regular recruitment.”
In addition, in relation to the expansion of the so-called 'Create 10 Seoul National Universities' project, Minister Choi responded to a question from Rep. Kang Gyeong-sook of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, who asked, 'Currently, three universities have been selected. Are you planning to select additional universities next year?', saying, "It is not definitive, but considering the budget situation, we will try to increase the number of universities by at least two as much as possible."
