 By Kim Rahn
A newspaper ad sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to proclaim its opposition to free school meals is causing a fresh round of heated disputes.
The debate centers on the suitability of the ad in a situation where the city government and city council are colliding over the issue, as well as concerns about the human rights of the ad model, a boy who appears naked.
The advertisement was placed on the first page of several newspapers on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the ad, a naked boy stands with his private parts covered with the school meal tray he is holding.
The ad says that the money to be spent for free school lunch will cut into the budget for schools’ health facilities improvement, science lab renovation, English-only classrooms, and many other projects. It claims the meal program will deprive 1.28 million students of safer and better equipped schools.
The ad comes amid growing conflict between the city government and council over the issue — the council, dominated by the opposition Democratic Party (DP), passed an ordinance on Dec. 1 to provide free lunch to all students in primary and secondary schools, despite strong opposition from Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Oh has claimed the free meals should be offered only to poor students and the money should be spent for other priorities instead of spent on benefitting rich students.
After the ad was released, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, which is headed by superintendent Kwak No-hyun who backs the council’s ordinance, claimed the ad was false and exaggerated, demanding the city apologize.
“We plan to increase next year’s budget for poor students’ school expenses and other policies. If the free school meal program is canceled due to the city’s opposition, we’ll secure 10 billion won to provide poor students with free meals through a supplementary budget. The ad carries false and exaggerated information, so if the city doesn’t give a clear explanation and apology, we’ll take legal action,” the educational office said in a statement.
The DP also denounced Oh, saying the city spent 380 million won to place the ad. “Oh wasted a huge amount of money to achieve his political interests. The money equals the cost that could have provided lunch to 200,000 elementary school students,” DP lawmaker Jun Byung-hun said.
Many citizens sided with Jun, saying the city should save money to help under nourished children instead of spending it for publicity.
In cyberspace, bloggers are posting parodies of the advertisement. In one of the parodies, the boy wears a helmet used at construction sites, satirizing Oh’s construction-based development policies. It says that the city spends about a trillion won in construction projects and publicity, adding that Oh will deprive 1.28 million students of a chance to have meals.
Besides, the ad raised another issue — whether it infringed on the boy’s human rights. DP Supreme Council member Lee In-young said in a radio interview, “I wonder whether the city considered the boy’s human rights. They pictured the boy naked, and it is infringement of his human rights.”
서울시 무상급식 광고 논란
서울시가 신문에 무상급식반대 광고를 실어 논란을 일으키고 있다.
시 교육청과 이 문제로 충돌하고 있는 가운데 서울시가 이 광고를 낸 데다 옷을 입지 않은 남자 아이가 들어 있어 인권문제로 뜨거운 논란이 되고 있다.
화요일과 수요일 일부 신문 1면에 이 광고가 실렸다. 이 광고엔 벌거벗은 어린 소년이 식판으로 몸의 일부를 가린 채 서있다.
이 광고엔 무상 급식으로 쓰여진 돈으로 인해 학교 보건시설 개선, 과학실험실 현대화, 영어 전문 교육 등의 많은 계획의 예산이 삭감되었다고 쓰고 있다. 무상 급식으로 인해 학생 128만 명 의 안전한 학교생활을 빼앗아 간다고 주장하고 있다.
민주당이 장악하고 있는 시 교육청은 12월 1일 오세훈 시장의 강력한 반대에도 불구하고 초,중,고 무상급식 안을 통과 시켰다.
무상급식은 가난한 학생들에게만 제공 되어야 하며, 그 이외의 학생들에게 제공하는 돈으로는 다른 우선순위의 사업에 쓰여져야 한다고 오시장은 주장 했다.
광고가 나간 후, 시 교육청은 허위 내용을 주장했기에 시의 사과를 촉구했다.
민주당은 또한 서울시가 3억 8천만 원의 광고비를 썼다며 오시장을 맹비난했다. 많은 시민들도 오 시장 비난에 동참 하였다.
인터넷 상에서는 여러 네티즌들이 광고 패러디를 만들고 있다.
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