By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The government is taking special measures to contain gatherings protesting the import of American beef.
Students and public officials were individually ``encouraged'' not to participate in such events, while drastic measures such as inspecting mobile phones are provoking an angry response from people who call it an infringement upon privacy.
According to sources at the Ministry of Labor and its subordinate organizations, the government sent text messages Saturday to individuals ``encouraging'' them not to be involved in candlelit vigils or any collective actions against the imports. It said, ``Instruction from the Prime Minister's Office through the Labor Ministry; please refrain from participating in candlelit vigils.''
The Prime Minister's office did not confirm whether it issued the instruction.
The educational offices are busy discouraging students from attending such ``political meetings.'' On Saturday, online news outlet OhMyNews reported that several provincial education offices were sending out instructions to stop students from protesting.
The Incheon Metropolitan Education Office has instructed all teachers to look into text messages saved in students' mobile phones and report anything ``extraordinary.''
The office also requested that teachers fill in a special form about how they have ``instructed'' the students not to be in the vigils and their responses.
Seoul education office also sent out leaflets to students' families to keep their children off the protest rallies. ``In order to protect your children from any harm, please make sure they do not go to protest events,'' it said.
The moves came after the Education Minister Kim Do-yeon called up heads of 16 provincial education offices and told them to stop students from participating in such events last Wednesday. He also ordered promotional classes on American beef to be conducted at more than 10,000 schools nationwide.
Many students have said their teachers have advised them to stay away from such events. Some even went to the vigil spots, allegedly took pictures of the students and told them to go home or they could be in serious trouble.
A spokesman for the Incheon education office said, ``We are worried that some anonymous people are sending out text messages to young students spreading odd political ideas. We just wanted to root out those groundless messages,'' he said.
However, progressive teachers and civic groups said that such moves are an infringement upon one's privacy and right to gather.
The groups are considering boycotting the government-orchestrated classes on beef promotion. ``We will not teach political ideas to students. If the government forces us to do so, we will seek ways to make our own textbooks and teach them the other side of the beef deal,'' KTU head Chung Jin-hwa said.