Far-right group tied to gov’t-led after-school program sparks outrage

The banner of Rhee Park School, a far-right group that provides history education favorable to former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, hangs at its office in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

By Lee Hae-rin

• Published Jun 2, 2025 4:47 PM KST

Gov't-funded after-school child care service exposed kids to ultra-conservative dogma: teachers

Rhee Park School, a conservative organization, has become a last-minute flashpoint in Korea's presidential election as it faces accusations of systematically manipulating online comments in favor of Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party (PPP) candidate.

The controversy intensified following revelations that the group has been indoctrinating children with ultra-conservative ideologies through government-supported after-school child care services, hours before voters cast their ballots Tuesday.

The burgeoning scandal drew a sharp rebuke from the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU). In a scathing statement issued Monday, the union condemned educational authorities and demanded the immediate abolition of the Neulbom School program, an after-school child care initiative promoted for years by the ousted Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the conservative party as a response to the nation's plummeting birthrate. The union's outcry underscores concerns that a program designed to support families is instead being co-opted for political indoctrination.

“The news reports revealed that the far-right private organization, which has glorified dictatorship and systematically manipulated online comments, was involved in the ministry’s training of Neulbom School instructors and that they were deployed to elementary school sites,” the group said.

The group criticized the ministry for supporting and enabling the recruitment and training of far-right instructors in the government-funded project.

This development follows a report Saturday by the local news outlet Newstapa, revealing that Rhee Park School, which offers history education favorable to former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, signed a partnership with Seoul National University of Education and placed its instructors in schools.

The report also raised allegations that the group provided instructor certificates to commentators who criticized certain presidential candidates and revealed that the group’s education program included far-right views of Korean history.

The group took down all of its YouTube videos after the report.

However, backup video footage of the Rhee Park School classes from 2021 shared on social media shows the indoctrination process.

In one video of “Junior History English Class,” the group’s CEO Son Hyo-sook told children, “Here, we learn Korean history under the slogan, ‘If you want to protect freedom, study Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee.’”

The class was taught by Yang Ju-young, the daughter-in-law of controversial pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church. A middle school student who attended the class said he learned that “history taught at school is untrue” and that he “enjoyed learning about Rhee and Park.”

The class also exposed students to arguments opposing abortion and diversity. As part of an art project, students wrote phrases like “opposition to the anti-discrimination” on masks and wrote letters to single mothers saying, “You did well not to have an abortion.”

After the class, Yang said, “Through the dreams God gave us, we shared how we can recover the world sickened by abortion and homosexuality.”

In response, the Ministry of Education dismissed Son, the CEO, from her position as a member of the policy advisory committee on Monday. She was to serve a one-year term after being appointed in June last year.

The ministry also launched an immediate investigation into the group’s involvement in the after-school child care services and revealed that it sent instructors to 10 elementary schools in Seoul.

Meanwhile, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) accused the PPP's Kim of being involved in the scandal and condemned it as “cyber insurrection.”

The party suggested a possible connection between Kim and the group, pointing to his appearance in promotional videos for Rhee Park School and the fact that several group officials ran as candidates for the Christian Free Unification Party, which Kim founded, in the last general election.

Kim, however, disavowed any connection with the group and argued the claim is “nonsense.” The PPP denied any connection with the group, calling the allegation a “groundless political offense.”

The revelation sparked outrage from parents.

“The Neulbom School program, implemented by the Yoon administration despite concerns from teachers and parents, is currently in place at 6,185 elementary schools nationwide. Starting next year, it will be expanded to all elementary schools across the country," a coalition of parent groups nationwide said in a statement Saturday.

“It is unacceptable that the after-school program was misused as a channel for distorted ideological education by a specific group,” the organization added, urging the new government to fully investigate the group’s ties to the education ministry, review the Neulbom curriculum and instructors’ qualifications and rebuild the public childcare system.

According to a 2024 survey conducted by the Education Design Network, a policy research group, about six out of every 10 teachers and parents opposed the government-led Neulbom project’s nationwide rollout. The survey, which included responses from 42,001 parents and teachers, found that critics largely pointed to the lack of proper inspection procedures to verify instructors’ qualifications.

Meanwhile, police vowed Monday to “thoroughly and quickly investigate” Rhee Park School over opinion rigging allegations.

“The charges may be expanded, or the investigation could shift focus as it progresses,” the police said.