The heads of three research institutes under South Korea's Ministry of Education pushed back against a government plan to merge them, warning that the move would undermine their expertise and independence. Critics also said the government failed to gather enough input from the institutes and their staff before deciding on the merger.
At a parliamentary audit of Education Ministry affiliates held by the National Assembly's Education Committee on Oct. 12, Park Ji-hyang, chairperson of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, said she "fully agreed" when asked by Rep. Jung Sung-kook of the People Power Party whether a merger could make it harder for the foundation to carry out its role independently.
"The Northeast Asian History Foundation was established to respond to historical distortions by China and Japan," Park said. "If the foundation is merged with other institutions, that core function will be severely damaged." The foundation, which conducts research and shapes policy responses on Northeast Asian history and territorial issues, would struggle to maintain its current expertise and independence as part of a combined body, she argued.
Kim Nak-nyeon, president of the Academy of Korean Studies, also said the three institutes targeted for consolidation "each have their own distinct functions and have each built up their own expertise." He added, "If our institute is merged with others, the credibility of research on Korean studies could be affected."
The government announced a public institution reform plan on Sept. 3 that would combine the three bodies into a single organization tentatively named the Institute for Korean Studies, History and Classics. The stated aim is to improve operational efficiency by consolidating similar or overlapping functions. The three bodies, however, handle distinct work — the Northeast Asian History Foundation researches history and territorial issues and formulates policy responses, the Academy of Korean Studies conducts research and education in Korean studies, and the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics translates and distributes classical texts — prompting concerns that the merger would weaken their specialized capabilities.
The institute heads also criticized the lack of consultation during the process. "Neither the heads of the institutions nor their staff had any opportunity to express their views," Kim said. Park likewise said no adequate consultation took place before the merger policy was decided.
The Education Ministry acknowledged that prior consultation had been insufficient. "When we drew up the government's functional reform plan, we were not able to hear all of the views within each institution," said Seol Se-hoon, head of the ministry's planning and coordination office. He added that the ministry began discussions with a functional reform task force and the labor unions at each institution after the consolidation plan was announced last month. "We are looking for ways to maximize the strengths of the three institutions and generate synergy, and we will continue to engage actively with each of them," he said.