Seoul Education Superintendent Jung Keun-sik apologized and said he would prepare measures to prevent a recurrence in connection with the controversy over the so-called "Starbucks cheer chant" by student athletes on the Paejae High School baseball team.
On the 2nd, Jung wrote on his social networking service (SNS), "As the superintendent responsible for Seoul education, I bow my head in deep apology to the student athletes, parents, and alumni of Gwangju Jeil High School, and to the citizens of Gwangju and the public who carry historical pain," adding, "I take this matter very seriously and fully recognize my responsibility."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education was said to have visited the school in question and confirmed the facts immediately after the controversy arose.
Jung said, "The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education visited the school the day after the incident to verify the facts," and emphasized, "We will closely examine the school's handling process, guidance system, on-site actions, and education plan to prevent a recurrence, and ensure that the necessary educational measures are taken responsibly in accordance with principles and procedures."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also decided to conduct emergency education for school athletic teams under its jurisdiction to prevent discriminatory and hateful expressions and to spread a healthy cheering culture. The policy is to strengthen human rights education, sports ethics education, and historical awareness education not only for student athletes but also for coaches.
Jung said, "We have ordered emergency education to eradicate discriminatory and hateful expressions among all school athletic teams under our jurisdiction and to foster a healthy cheering culture," and added that going forward, human rights education, sports ethics education, and historical awareness education would be strengthened for coaches as well as student athletes.
He continued, "To ensure this does not happen again, we will prepare concrete implementation plans for human rights and history education in school sports settings and establish a comprehensive response system," adding, "We will take responsibility to the end and keep watch so that the same pain is not repeated."
Jung also noted that the issue cannot be seen simply as a matter of cheering at a stadium. He emphasized, "Our education must take seriously the fact that language of hate and disparagement spreading online is seeping into students' daily lives and even into stadiums."
He added, "Education for democratic citizenship and history that properly teaches the pains of our modern history, including May 18, fosters empathy for others' wounds, and respects regions and people must be deeper and more practical."