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Members of parents groups hold a press conference in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square

The Park Geun-hye administration’s plan for introducing state-issued history textbooks was singled out as a matter of concern in a US State Department human rights report.

Section 2 on “Respect for Civil Liberties” in the department’s “2015 Human Rights Report” published on Apr. 13 included two new references to South Korea’s middle and high school history textbooks in an item on “Freedom of Speech and Press.”

“In October the Ministry of Education announced plans to require middle and high schools to use only Korean history books authored by the government-affiliated National Institute of Korean History starting in the 2017 school year,” the report noted in a subsection on “Censorship or Content Restrictions.”

“This would end the right of schools, since 2010, to choose from a range of textbooks approved by the ministry,” the report continued.

The textbook issue was mentioned again in another item on “Academic Freedom and Cultural Events” in the section on “Freedom of Speech and Press.”

“There were no government restrictions specifically targeting academic freedom or cultural events. However, a government plan to end middle and high schools’ right to choose Korean history textbook [sic] raised concerns about academic freedom,” the report noted.

South Korea’s National Security Law was also mentioned as a major human rights issue. An executive summary by the State Department observed that “[t]he primary human rights problems reported were government interpretation of the National Security Law, libel laws, and other laws to limit freedom of speech and expression and restrict access to the internet, and the continued jailing of conscientious objectors to military service.”

Other issues cited included “some official corruption, the absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, sexual and domestic violence, child prostitution, and trafficking in persons.” The report made further reference to issues concerning discrimination against North Korean defectors, minorities, AIDS patients, and foreigners, as well as restrictions on association and assembly freedoms and political engagement by public servants and teachers.

In the case of North Korea, the department criticized continued political suppression by the authoritarian regime and the banning or restriction of political opposition.

By Jeon Jeong-yun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]