Middle School Teachers Held Under National Security Act

Police and prosecutors, frustrated by the peaceful "unification education" curriculum promoted by the Ministry of Education, are now targeting teachers who attempt to implement the curriculum. Two teachers have been held in the interrogation rooms of the Seoul police agency for over a week.

[ClickPress, Thu Jan 25 2007] Two teachers have been detained by police after prosecutors charged them with violating the National Security Law.

The maximum penalty under the law is death.

Choi Hwa-seop, a teacher at Myeongil Middle School, and Kim Maeng-gyu, who teaches at Cheongdam Middle School, have been held in isolation under the Seoul National Police Agency in Jangandong since January 18th.

Police raided the homes and offices of the teachers on January 12th. The police then requested that they appear for questioning. The teachers responded that they were consulting a lawyer, and that they intended to appear on January 22nd. Police apparently agreed to this.

However, police were directed to arrest the teachers on January 18th. Prosecutor Kim Shin stated that if the teachers were not in custody, they might attempt to contact an underground North Korean group, and that they would in any case brainwash innocent young students with unification education. District Court judge Kim Jin-dong approved the arrest warrant.

In October, 2000, Choi Hwa-seop was awarded a top prize by the Ministry of Education for his work in unification education. In 2005, Kim Maeng-gyu produced lessons that were widely reported by media as superior examples of unification education. These lessons were supported by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Unification.

Both teachers have chaired the unification committee of the Korean Teachers Union.

The arrests are apparently related to images of posters that the teachers had uploaded to the internet in July of last year.
The Korean Teachers Union denounced the arrests in a press release. “If the police are going to arrest and detain teachers for referring to North Korean politics, prosecutors should investigate officials at the Ministry of Education as well. Their Internet Peace School, for example, encourages students and teachers to explore the political ideologies of the North.”

About National Security Law

The National Security Law has often been used to control dissent in the labor movement and to stifle political debate. Amnesty International and many other organizations have repeatedly called for reform of the law to allow for basic rights to speech and association.

About KTU

The Korean Teachers Union, KTU, was formed in 1989, and was recognized by the government in 1999. The union currently represents 90,000 teachers. For more information about the KTU, please see www.eduhope.net.

Contact: Hwang Hyun-su, Chair of International Cooperation Committee, Incheon local, KTU, 82-18-208-5482. chambb@ktu.or.kr

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