양허안 반대 영문 성명서  

지난 24일 국민행동의 교육개방 양허안 반대 성명서의 영문본입니다. 영문 홈
페이지 또는 메일링리스트가 있으신 단위는 배포해주시기 바랍니다. 

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KoPA Statement

Stop the GATS! Stop the offers in services!

According to the decision made at the 4th WTO Ministerial Meeting of 
November 2001, member countries are required to submit their offers in 
services by 31st March. To this end, the Korean government has decided 
upon the its initial offers, in which it has proposed to liberalise 
legal services, international deliveries, finance, construction, 
environment and communications services. Also, the government is 
planning to decide its offers in the education sector within this
week, much to the anger of civil and social organizations who are 
against the liberalization of education. The Minister of Education, Yoon 
Deok-Hong, has proposed to postpone the submission of the offers in 
March and to further debate on the issue. However, the Minister of 
Finance, Kim Jin-Pyo, and other finance and trade officials are 
relentlessly contending that opening of markets is inevitable.
The government has announced that it will start bilateral negotiations 
from May, as soon as the matter on education is settled and offers 
submitted to the WTO secretariat by the deadline of 31st March. 

However, it has been stated by the WTO itself that the "deadline" is, in 
fact, a recommendation, at which the only countries expected to submit 
their offers are US and EU. Also, the number of countries expected to 
make their offers before the 5th Ministerial Meeting in September will 
only be about 30 countries. Even the EU, which will make its offers, has 
decided to exclude audio-visual, medical and educational services. This 
shows us that opening of markets, especially in the services sector, is 
not an inevitable trend. The Korean government is one of the few 
governments that is trying to be an exemplary country and hurrying to 
submit offers. After the IMF structural adjustment programs, Korea has 
already implemented many autonomous liberalisation measures in services. 
The role of the Korean government has been to encourage the opening of 
markets in the developing countries on behalf of the US. On top of it 
all, the GATS will bring about further privatisation in electricity!
, communications and postal services, while commodifying education and 
healthcare. In other words, the Korean government is committed to 
fulfilling all the requirements of the WTO in order to attract foreign 
investments by giving more allowances to transnational capital. 

The destructive effect the opening of public services will have on the 
lives of people is evident. At the moment, teachers, students and most 
social organizations are against the opening of markets in education. 
The liberalization of education will lead to decrease in government 
support for education and failure to control education institutions that 
seek only profit. It will eventually lead to abandonment of state 
responsibilities to provide good quality education to all its people. 
Also, opening of education will increase education fees and the disparity
of education. Thus, the GATS is an agreement that deprives the access to 
education at the same time transferring the costs to the people, for the 
sake of attracting and benefitting transnational capital. 

In light of the serious outcome of the GATS, the government must not 
submit offers in services. We demand an immediate moratorium on all GATS 
processes and opening of all service sectors. We demand that President 
Noh Moo-Hyun cancel all plans to submit offers before 31st March. We 
also demand that extensive investigation be carried out on the 
disastrous effects of the liberalization of education and other
services.

24th March, 2003
Korean People's Action against BIT and WTO (KoPA)

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[For Reference]

Development of the struggle of the opposition to the opening of the 
educational
industry

1. Progress of organizing the Korean Education Network Against GATS 
(KENAG)

• In the second half of the year 2002, there have been preliminary
announcements of legislation of related bills concerning educational 
opening, thereby accelerating the governments promotion to open up the 
education sector.  

• Educational stakeholders such as Progressive Education Research 
Institute(PERI), Korean Teachers Union (KTU), National Association Cham-
Education, Korean Students Coalition and Korean Professors Union 
recognized the need for collaborative countermove against such 
intention, and thus by having three consecutive preliminary meetings 
after mid-September, formed a preparatory unit in order to constitute 
a . (shortly, Korean Education Network Against GATS WTO Educational 
Opening, KENAG)
•Educational Stakeholders Workshop In Opposition to the Educational 
Opening was held under the auspices of the  at the grand conference room 
of the Korean Teachers Union on September 27th, 2002. Educational 
organizations such as Korean Teachers Union, Korean University Workers 
Union, Korean Students Coalition, Korean Professors Union and 
Progressive Education Research Institute participated, discussing the
controversial points coming from the educational opening and the course 
of the countermovement.
• announced its establishment through a press conference on October 7th 
by educational stakeholders and civilian social organizations that 
oppose to the educational opening.

 << Declaration on the establishment of the KENAG >>

In accordance with the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda, 
which was officially launched through The Fourth WTO Ministerial 
Conference held at Doha, Qatar in November 2002, opening of market and 
liberalization of trade at a wide range of sectors such as agriculture 
and service industry are currently under discussion. In such course, 
education category has been included in the General Agreement on Trade 
in Services at WTO, and now the opening of the education sector
is imminent. The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have 
submitted a list of concessions they seek through the educational 
opening through a request list and our government is placed in a 
situation where it has to submit a corresponding offer list by the end 
of March next year.

And yet to ones amazement, and despite the fact that full-scale 
negotiations are to be proceeded after the end of March 2003, the 
Ministry of Education has made preliminary announcements of legislation 
of revised bills of Higher Education Act and Private School Act on 
September 4th, which are laws related to the blueprint to attract 
superior foreign universities, and a bill that enables employment of
foreign nationals as elementary/secondary teachers on September 19th. 
Moreover, the Ministry of Finance and Economy has made a preliminary 
announcement of legislation of a  and has principally included the
details of the opening of the education sector along with labor, 
medicine and environment, opening up to foreign schools and branch 
universities unconditionally. Although the real negotiation proceedings 
start hereafter, the Kim Dae Jung administration is adopting measur!
es of market-opening in advance. This is no different from accomplishing 
the neoliberalistic structural reform through the educational 
opening.         

The opening of the education sector means infiltration of multinational 
capital even to our domestic education. Accordingly, education is 
depreciated as a means to pursue profits, thereby fundamentally shaking 
our education system. Just as in other countries cases, the tendency to 
privatize national universities will be accelerated after the opening, 
and the registration fees will soar. What is more, the administration 
and supervision of private schools will be alleviated in the
name of autonomy with the introduction of Private School Clearing Law, 
causing extended irregularities and corruption of private schools. Since 
private schools, which are public institutions, become moneymaking 
institutes in pursuit of profits, the issue of private schools that 
occupy 84% of domestic universities, will be placed under some grave 
situation.
It is obvious that elementary and secondary private school foundations 
will make such demands as well, insisting on equaling out. In the midst 
of absurdity where Korean students attend schools built for foreigners, 
the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Commerce, 
Industry, and Energy are maintaining that it is necessary to alleviate 
the entrance requirements towards Korean nationals for the sake of the 
management of these foreign schools. The aftermath of the educational 
opening on our elementary and secondary education can be vividly
conjectured. In case the bills the government is promoting are passed 
through, a series of demands such as remitting profits gained in Korea 
to home and legally allowing studying abroad at an early stage will come 
rushing in. 
Education can never be within the sphere of commerce. Education is, 
socially speaking; the basic right of the people, and the solidification 
of our education can never be accomplished by some foreign educational 
institutes or foreign professors. We strongly censure the Kim Dae Jung 
government for leading the opening of the education sector, working in 
favor of foreign education capital rather than people's right for 
education, and will fight desperately to halt the bills that have been 
announced preliminarily of legislation from being passed through at the 
National Assembly.
     
2. Progress of the Struggle

* October 7: After the press conference, a delegation of the , makes a 
protest call at the Ministry of Education 
* October 16: Forum on the theme, 'Educational Opening, What Are The 
Problems?' is proceeded..
* October 14 onwards: 'One Million Persons Signature Campaign in 
opposition to the WTO opening and marketization of the education sector, 
and to the legislations of the four bills' among the educational 
stakeholders is launched.
* One-man demonstration, signature-seeking campaign and assembly 
supervised by the KENAG are conducted to block the passing of the four 
bills arranged for the voluntary liberalization of the educational 
opening at the regular National Assembly, which is in session until 
November 14th. 
- October 22-23: One-man demonstration 'insisting on the withdrawal of 
the legislation of the four bills related to the educational opening, 
and on the suspension of the market-opening negotiations' is conducted 
in front of the National Assembly and the Ministry of Education 
buildings. 
- October 25: The struggle of 'The First Educational Stakeholders' Rally 
to oppose the WTO opening and marketization of education, and to block 
the legislation of the four bills' is proceeded.
- October 26-November 2: One-man demonstration 'insisting on the 
withdrawal of the legislation of the four bills related to the 
educational opening and the suspension of the market-opening 
negotiations' is conducted.
* November 9, 13: Joint propaganda campaign and signature-seeking 
campaign to block the educational opening are conducted at the agrarian 
rally.
* After the regular National Assembly, KENAG intervenes in the 16th 
presidential election and delivers the standpoint of KENAG on the issue 
of the educational opening. The Democratic Labor Party responds 
in 'rejection of educational opening' while the Democratic Party 
responds to 'open the education sector with careful consideration.'
* December 2: '2002 Persons Declaration Campaign to resist the WTO 
opening and marketization of education' is conducted, by gathering full 
force of the educational stakeholders nationwide and social civilian 
groups.
* December 2: Holds a press conference 'insisting on the suspension of
negotiations on the WTO educational opening, and the abolition of 
Special Economy Zone Act' is held. Talks with the Ministry of Education 
and forcefully criticizes the undemocratic and implosive aspects of the 
current proceedings of the educational opening, and the fabricated 
aspect of the current market-opening trend.
* November 23-December 21: Street propaganda campaigns and signature-
seeking campaigns every week.
* December 10: Declaration campaign 'insisting on the impediment of the
educational opening and on the expansion of publicness of the 
education. .
* December 3-6: One-man demonstration demanding 'suspension of 
negotiations on the educational opening.

As a result of many different ways of struggling during the first half 
of 2002, the bills related to the educational opening were resisted from 
passing through at the National Assembly, slowly letting the whole 
society be aware of the issue of the educational opening.

2003
* February 6, 13:00 PM: Joint press conference in opposition to WTO 
service negotiations concerning the opening of education/culture.
* February 13th, The First KENAG Delegates Meeting at the office of the 
Korean Teachers' Union.
- Delegates of eleven organizations participate, discuss the February-
March struggle plans, and confirm on the full-scale March struggle. 
* February 19: Joint forum among groups of culture, health and education
- Joint forum is held jointly by the groups of culture, health and 
education to resist the WTO service negotiations on February 19th.
- Participant groups of the forum criticising that the WTO service 
negotiations, which date with the submission of the offer list in March, 
and which give away the sectors of education, culture, medicine to 
commercial pursuits of foreign education companies and cultural/medical 
capital and offer private education and domestic capital infinite 
opportunity to earn profits without undergoing any social discussion; 
are only for the materialization of the interests of capital
that denies publicness.
- Participant groups carry the resolution to co-struggle with full force 
to stop the WTO service negotiations and the submission of the offer 
list in March that destroy the socio-public sphere.