A flawed nominee and a hollow confirmation hearing

 

Vice Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Education Minister nominee Choi Kyo-jin arrives at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Aug. 14 to prepare for his confirmation hearing. [YONHAP]

 
On Tuesday, the National Assembly will hold a confirmation hearing for Education Minister nominee Choi Kyo‑jin, currently in his third term as superintendent of education in Sejong. A former member of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, he is the first from that background to be nominated for the post. Yet the shortcomings already revealed make it hard to see him as a stronger candidate than Lee Jin-sook, whose nomination was withdrawn earlier. The presidential office’s vetting standards are in question.
 
Most notable is a drunk driving case. In October 2003, Choi was caught driving in Daejeon with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.187 percent, well above the threshold for license revocation. He was fined 2 million won ($1,436). Choi expressed regret but asked for leniency, arguing that he had not been a teacher at the time. The explanation is troubling. The issue is not whether he held a teaching post but whether he showed the judgment expected of an education minister.
 
Allegations of plagiarism also hang over him. His 2006 master’s thesis at Mokwon University’s graduate school of public administration is said to have been stitched together from newspaper articles. In a written response to lawmakers, Choi said he had relied on media coverage because his subject — the manifesto movement — was new at the time and conceded he had been lax in citing sources. But the education minister must embody academic integrity for teachers, students and parents alike, and it is doubtful that he meets this standard.
 

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His record as an auditor at Korea Land Corporation in 2007 has also drawn scrutiny. He joined other officials on what was criticized as a junket to Iguazu Falls in South America. Later, as superintendent, he shared social media posts defending Cho Kuk, the former Rebuilding Korea Party leader, when allegations of university admissions fraud involving his children surfaced. Choi said he was criticizing prosecutorial overreach, not defending corruption. But he also shared posts suggesting former South Chungcheong Gov. Ahn Hee-jung, convicted of sexual assault, was the victim of "judicial murder." That conduct raised questions about his political neutrality in office.
 
Concerns are compounded by the Assembly’s own role. No witnesses or expert references have been approved for the hearing. Under President Lee Jae Myungn, the ruling party has often used its majority to block such requests. If confirmation hearings continue in this fashion, they risk becoming meaningless formalities. Public distrust of the Assembly will only deepen.


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.