South Korean Civic Groups Take History Textbooks Issue to Constitutional Court, Says Government's Monopoly of History Textbook Publication Violates 'Basic Ideas of Democracy'

South Korean civic groups have taken to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday to file an appeal against the government for "infringing upon the impartiality of education" by implementing the state-mandated publication of secondary education history textbooks.

The Korea Herald reported on the same day that Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyun, said that it will file the appeal against the Education Ministry for its plan to take over the publication rights for history textbooks by 2017.

A Network to Stop State Textbooks, a group of 466 civic and education groups, also participated in the lawsuit.

A total of 3,374 citizens participated as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

"A country monopolizing the interpretation of history conflicts with the basic ideas of democracy ... it goes against what our democracy has accomplished, and turns the clock back to the times of dictatorship, while violating the constitutional principles of independence and political impartiality of education," the Lawyers for a Democratic Society said.

According to the opposing groups, textbooks authored by the government may attempt to change how history is presented to students. There is also a particular fear that the government may downplay the controversial deeds of political figures such as for dictatorial leader Park Chung Hee, Park Geun Hye's father.

The groups also raised a concern with respect to Article 29, Clause 2 of the elementary and secondary education law which stipulates that publication and other details pertaining to it such as price, distribution and censorship may be decided by a presidential decree.

In September this year, the incumbent administration announced that it would revise the current textbook publication system and will make the use of state-authored history textbooks mandatory in middle and high school starting 2017.

Under the present publication system, eight private publishing companies are commissioned to provide history textbooks for secondary schools, the Free Press Journal wrote Tuesday.