) announced on the 28th of last month that it would recall all of its teaching materials. President Yoon Seo-gyeol was furious, saying, ``This should not have happened.'' This controversial issue remains unsolved.
Not breathing. Opposition parties have stepped up their criticism, and civil society groups have accused Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and others of neglecting their duties.
This time, the subject that caused controversy was the educational material ``Psychological Education'' distributed for the South Korean military's psychological education.
“Basic teaching materials for military strength education.” Distribution has recently begun to each unit. According to Yonhap News, the teaching materials are revised once every five years, and the teaching materials published in 2019 were written by private sector experts.
However, the revised teaching materials are said to have been written by active-duty military personnel and civilian employees. The teaching material has a preface that says, ``Multiple powerful countries such as China, Russia, and Japan are in fierce conflict around the Korean Peninsula.''
``These countries are projecting military power overseas for their own interests, and territorial disputes such as the Diaoyu Islands (Japanese name: Senkaku Islands), the Kuril Islands (Kil Islands), and the Dokdo Islands issue are ongoing. It is and is
There is a risk of military conflict occurring at any time." The South Korean government, which claims sovereignty over Takeshima, takes the position that ``there is no territorial issue,'' so the statements in the teaching material go against government policy.
The Korean media pointed out that there was no such thing, and it caused a controversy. The teaching material also included a map of the Korean Peninsula that did not include Takeshima.
Initially, the Ministry of National Defense said, ``The subject of the text is ``these countries,'' and the surrounding countries (on the Korean peninsula) vary in terms of territory.
It is not a statement that Japan recognizes Dokdo as a territorial dispute (area)." However, after receiving the report, President Yoon said, ``This should never happen.''
"This must not be done," and instructed them to take immediate measures such as revising the teaching materials. On the 28th of last month, the Ministry of National Defense announced a policy to recall all materials, saying, ``Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, we will supplement the teaching materials as soon as possible.''
did. According to South Korean media outlet E-Daily, a total of 40,000 copies of the teaching materials are scheduled to be published, and about 20,000 copies have already been distributed to some units. The budget invested in publishing 20,000 copies was approximately 40 million won (approx.
4.4 million yen). Concerning Takeshima, there have been performative actions to assert territorial rights over the island since last year, such as when South Korean members of Congress landed on the island. In May last year, the largest
A lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Japan landed on Takeshima with more than a dozen members of a student organization. Lawmakers waved South Korean flags and shouted, ``Dokdo is our territory.'' After landing, this lawmaker made his own S
He posted on SNS, ``This has directly proven that Dokdo is our territory.'' He once again explained his true intentions on the radio program he appeared on, saying, ``Japan has already stated in its security document that Takeshima is Japanese territory.''
, which he now asserts in his diplomatic speeches. We thought we had to let the people of the world know that Dokdo is Korean territory, so we decided to go ashore with the youth committee (student group).
'' he said. However, the lawmaker's actions were criticized even within South Korea. As mentioned above, the South Korean government does not acknowledge the existence of a territorial dispute over the island, and the island is clearly South Korean territory.
Because of this position, it has been argued that it is not a subject of diplomatic negotiation or judicial resolution in the first place. As with the issue surrounding the teaching materials, the lawmaker was criticized because it was inconsistent with the government's position.
This was because if a sitting member of the Diet landed on the island and claimed territorial rights, he would be acknowledging that Takeshima was the subject of dispute.
In response to the issue surrounding the educational materials, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik told reporters,
``I take all responsibility,'' he said, ``If there is something that I should take responsibility for, I will take responsibility and apologize.'' Meanwhile, according to Korean media, the citizens' group ``Common People's Welfare Measures Committee''
announced on the 29th of last month that they had filed a complaint against Director Shin and others with the Seoul National Police Agency on suspicion of neglecting their duties. Secretary Singh told reporters, ``As the secretary, I should have thoroughly confirmed this in advance, but I was unable to do so.
It was my clumsiness that caused this,'' the group said, adding, ``The government has repeatedly stated its official position that ``there is no territorial dispute related to Dokdo.'' ) directly against this
"The fact that he was not even aware that the shocking content was included in the teaching materials is a complete dereliction of his duties." The Ministry of National Defense will destroy all the recovered teaching materials, revise the descriptions that were pointed out, and republish them.
The policy is to
2024/01/04 14:53 KST
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