By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Education Minister Kim Shin-il stepped down Tuesday, taking responsibility for the recent policy confusion in the selection of U.S.-style law schools.
President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.
Kim tendered his resignation to Roh late Monday after announcing the preliminary list of 25 successful candidate universities for licenses to become the nation's first law schools.
His resignation comes amid continuing protests from unsuccessful candidates and discord with Cheong Wa Dae over the choices.
The presidential office demanded the ministry reconsider the list for a more balanced designation, saying the original one failed to allocate at least one law school to each province or metropolitan city.
But the ministry pushed ahead with the original plan, saying it would select additional universities if the total law school student quota was increased or if some successful schools were reviewed as unqualified.
The two conditions, however, are very unlikely to be achieved, so the minister reportedly defied Cheong Wa Dae's demand.
Both successful and unsuccessful candidates also protested the selection: The former complain over the small quota allocated to them, while the latter claim the selection procedure was ``unfair and politically manipulated.''
Kim had only about two weeks of his term left, as the Cabinet will be replaced when President-elect Lee Myung-bak is inaugurated on Feb. 25.