Ahn Min-seok: 1,850 Applicants for 50 Positions, High Interest in Gyeonggi's 'Bureau for Protecting Educational Activities'... 'Phone-Free School' Brings Smartphone Issue to Public Debate

[Joo Young-jin's News Briefing]

When quoting or reporting this interview, please clearly state the program name 'SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing>'. Copyright belongs to SBS.

■ Broadcast: SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing> Mon–Fri (14:00–15:20)
■ Host: Anchor Joo Young-jin
■ Guest: Ahn Min-seok, Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education
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● Interview with <Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok>

"First-ever introduction of 'Officers Dedicated to Protecting Teacher Rights'... Aimed at initial conflict mediation and reconciliation, not violent methods"
"Without restoring teachers' rights, no education policy can succeed"
"1,850 applied for 50 positions on the 'Teacher Rights Protection Team'... Many wonderful citizens applied"
"Will delegate all superintendent authority to officers dedicated to protecting teacher rights"
"If we change the flawed system, expecting to restore teacher rights within a year"

"First policy 'Phone-Free School'... Aimed at bringing the smartphone issue into public debate"
"Letting students decide autonomously through student councils... Part of democratic citizenship education"
"Putting 'Wall-Breaking Education' into practice to connect schools and local communities"
"AI education within schools has limits... Need to utilize local experts"
"Will also break down walls between education offices and city halls... Governor Choo Mi-ae agrees with the initiative"
"Open recruitment for local education superintendents is the first step in realizing educational autonomy"
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▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : As you saw in the video, many people might have thought he was running in the Democratic Party National Convention, but now he is on a completely different path. Ahn Min-seok, who was elected as the Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education, is here with us. Welcome.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Head of the Gyeonggi Teacher Rights Protection Team.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Head of the Gyeonggi Teacher Rights Protection Team.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : I am Ahn Min-seok.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I think there must be a reason why you introduce yourself as the Head of the Gyeonggi Teacher Rights Protection Team.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Teachers are suffering because teaching rights have collapsed, and having teachers endure these times of trial all alone is a nationwide phenomenon. Therefore, with the thought that we must first establish teacher rights in Gyeonggi Province to set education right, I took on the role of protection team head myself and stepped forward to protect teachers.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Hearing you say that, I cannot help but ask this question. A while ago, on Netflix, was it? The content titled 'Teach You a Lesson' gained immense popularity, and an organization called the 'Teacher Rights Protection Bureau' appeared in it. I believe Superintendent Ahn Min-seok promised to create something like that, is that correct?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : The method of protecting teacher rights is different. Our primary goal is not violent retribution, but mediating early conflicts and bringing reconciliation. Also, if legal action is required, lawyers are dispatched quickly so that teachers do not have to worry, and the Teacher Rights Protection Team solves the problem through a one-stop service. So the underlying intent is the same: protecting teachers. However, last year, when I served as chairman of the Future Education Autonomy Committee directly under presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and oversaw such education policies, I made a judgment back then. If we do not protect teachers, if we do not restore teacher rights, no education policy can succeed. In particular, we need to launch an education system for the AI era. Teachers also have to lead this, but as long as teachers remain shrinking back and trapped in minimalism as they are now, education for the new AI era is impossible. So I concluded that, and during the superintendent election, my main slogan was "Teachers, just teach; we will protect you." Then right after I was elected, two or three days later, the drama 'Teach You a Lesson' came out, and I felt very grateful. In any case, the public has now realized, "Teachers are having such a hard time." That is why interest in Gyeonggi's Teacher Rights Protection Bureau is so high.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Is it already created, or are you in the process of creating it now?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : We have started the engine.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : You started the engine.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : We started the engine, and when we posted an open recruitment for 50 members for the Teacher Rights Protection Team, surprisingly 1,850 people applied.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Are there no qualifications required?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Yes, there are. Lawyers, police officers, teachers, or those with counseling experience and expertise. But I didn't expect so many to apply. So I'm in a truly happy dilemma. I conducted interviews yesterday. For those who passed the document screening among all applicants, we are conducting interviews over three days—yesterday, today, and Saturday—and yesterday I personally conducted them. Every single applicant was such a wonderful citizen. Concern for the community, a spirit of volunteer service, and considering protecting teachers as the highest work for the rest of their lives—most of those who applied thought that way. So there is hope in our country's education. Therefore, to keep that spark of hope alive in Gyeonggi Province, and specifically targeting a declaration of restoring teacher rights—the day the teacher at Seoi Elementary School passed away was July 18. So with the goal of making the Gyeonggi Declaration on Restoring Teacher Rights on July 18 next year, which marks the 4th anniversary, we are currently selecting officers dedicated to protecting teacher rights.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : How much authority will be given to them?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : I plan to delegate all of the superintendent's authority to them. So from the authority to mediate and reconcile issues on the ground to making legal judgments, I plan to give them all the authority a superintendent can exercise. Legal supplementary measures are also necessary.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : That is true.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : So while the teacher rights protection officers resolve on-site issues, regarding legal issues, starting in September, I will diligently meet with lawmakers in the National Assembly to appeal for the prompt passage of necessary legislation to establish teacher rights, such as amendments to the Child Welfare Act and teachers' immunity from liability. I will actively engage in legislative advocacy in the National Assembly starting in September.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I do not know if that far is possible, but whether authority equivalent to special judicial police officers can actually be granted also seems quite important.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Yesterday, I interviewed retired police officers who had handled school violence and teacher rights issues for a very long time. One common point in what they said was that if parties are reconciled and conflicts are mediated in the early stages, 90% of school violence committee or teacher rights issues can be resolved early on.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : In the early stages.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : But right now, with compartmentalized systems, teachers endure this process alone—once a teacher reports, it has to go to the School Violence Deliberation Committee, then to the Teacher Rights Committee, then booked by the police, then indicted by the prosecution. So I believe the existing structure and system are flawed. Therefore, if we change the wrong structure, system, and framework, I believe we can declare the restoration of teacher rights in Gyeonggi Province within one year. In particular, I gained confidence during the interviews yesterday. Because this is an untrodden path, there was fear, but yesterday I conducted five group interviews with lawyers and police officers. Through that, I gained the confidence that with people like them, we could declare the restoration of teacher rights within a year.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I was only thinking of people like Kim Moo-yul or Jin Ki-joo in the drama, but people with completely diverse backgrounds participated.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Right. And first and foremost, students must not be hit, not even with a flower.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Do not hit them.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : You shouldn't, and really wonderful people applied in large numbers.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : So I think we can do it.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood. I think many in the media and the public will watch this with interest going forward. Another major issue Superintendent Ahn Min-seok constantly worries about in order to guarantee students' right to learn is mobile phones—what to do about them. Forcibly restricting them during class time might seem like a violation of human rights, but I hear you have advocated for something called 'Phone-Free.'

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Schools without smartphones. When I visited Silicon Valley, wondering how students there receive AI education in the AI era, I visited schools and was surprised. They prohibited smartphones by law through high school. It was shocking. That is why I started this 'Smartphone-Free Movement.' It's summer vacation right now, isn't it? In every home, between mothers and our student children...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : The kids.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Every home is in chaos over the smartphone war. For kids, smartphones have become a body part.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Of course.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : But this is the adults' responsibility. Korea is known to rank first in the world for youth smartphone dependency. We are far too lenient.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Yet, there are some who see that as our competitiveness from a certain perspective.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : AI education can easily be done using iPads that students have. Watching Shorts, YouTube, Reels, and memes on smartphones damages children's brains...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : That is highly addictive, indeed.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Exactly. That is why in the United States, smartphones are perceived as being more harmful than cannabis. Cannabis has a smell and visible smoke, so people know it is harmful, but smartphones have no smell and no smoke. Because there is a social consensus on that awareness, they regulate it by law, like cannabis. So in fact, I haven't said exactly how to regulate it or to what extent. I am raising the topic to start a public discussion on this smartphone issue—whether to leave it as it is, or if we regulate it, to what extent and in what manner, let's reach a consensus through public discussion. That is the discourse I have put forward.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I also feel that students' voluntary agreement, so to speak, would be essential.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : I believe forcibly taking smartphones away from students or ordering them not to use them is uneducational. Therefore, let students debate why this is harmful, inform them, let them judge, and have them decide autonomously through student councils. This is part of democratic citizenship education, and adults must give children time and patience regarding the sins adults themselves committed. That is what I am telling teachers. Gyeonggi Province is doing well right now.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : What Superintendent Ahn Min-seok just mentioned seems to be a very challenging task, yet at the same time a topic that many people empathize with and have pondered together. Another concept associated with Superintendent Ahn is 'Wall-Breaking Education'—what is this? It seems to be a concept connecting schools with local communities.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : In the AI era, we need to provide good AI education, but AI education within schools alone has limits.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Within school walls.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Fundamentally, I see replacing the outdated education system with one suitable for the AI era as the top priority and the challenge for South Korea's education moving forward. But if local communities and schools do not cooperate and tear down walls between each other, how can AI education be done by schools alone? There are no experts. However, in the local community, there are various experts, university professors, and companies. Especially in Gyeonggi Province, there are many talents related to AI semiconductors in companies. So 'wall breaking' is aimed at tearing down walls between schools and communities, schools and universities, and companies to provide proper education in the AI era. By the way, 'wall breaking' in English is governance.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Ah, that.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Governance between schools and communities—that expression was used a lot, but let's not use English words. I also studied abroad, but instead of English, doesn't 'wall breaking' hit home right away? So we will also break the walls between education offices and city halls in September. Governor Choo Mi-ae strongly agrees with my intent. She said it's great, let's raise children together between the education office, local governments, and the provincial office. Governor Choo really likes the saying, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." So Governor Choo Mi-ae and I, as governor and superintendent, will tear down walls first, and then mayors and local education superintendents will hold a very meaningful ceremony to sign wall-breaking agreements, which the Minister of Education also said he would attend. So I will host that governor and superintendent wall-breaking event in September.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood. I think we have about 30 seconds left. Superintendent Ahn, you just mentioned local education superintendents, and the open recruitment system for local education superintendents and the second deputy superintendent. This seems like another new attempt, but didn't you originally hold the personnel appointment authority?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : That's right. It is an inherent privilege of the superintendent. Gyeonggi Province has 25 local education superintendents, and instead of having the provincial superintendent appoint them, we are returning my privilege to the regions so that local education superintendents are chosen locally. That is educational autonomy. But educational autonomy has been autonomy in name only and was not properly implemented for the past 30 years. We are starting it first in Gyeonggi Province, and as the first step, we selected 12 local education superintendents through open recruitment this time. And I plan to grant significant superintendent authority to those local education superintendents. In particular, I plan to give open-recruited local superintendents the personnel authority to select school principals, to select good principals in their areas. It might seem unprecedented, but it is the first step toward educational autonomy and something I believe should have been done long ago.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood. A five-term member of the National Assembly and now Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education. Did your career start as a schoolteacher, is that correct?

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : In my 20s, I was a teacher. In my 30s, I was a professor, and then I met a person named Roh Moo-hyun and thought, "Let's change the world through education together with him." Thinking that way, I ran for office, and in my 40s and 50s, I spent 20 years in politics over five terms, but these days I am very happy.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Escaping the political jungle makes me personally happy, and for the rest of my 60s, I intend to dedicate myself to transforming education.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Understood. That was our interview with Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.

▶ Ahn Min-seok / Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education : Thank you.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.