Court rules in favor of history textbook revision

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court rejected on Thursday a request by the
authors of a history textbook to prevent their publisher from distributing a
revised version of their text, whose original the government says is
"left-leaning."
The Seoul Central District Court turned down the petition from the co-authors of
the history textbook released by Kumsung Publishing Co., ruling that the
company's discretionary revision does not violate the terms of contract.
The conservative government of Lee Myung-bak has charged that the current
textbook on Korean modern history plays down the meaning of the foundation of
South Korea while glossing over the problems of the North Korean regime and
instructed publishers to revise the content.
Five of the six scholars who compiled the original textbook in 2002, led by Kim
Tae-woong, a history education professor at Seoul National University, argue that
revising it without their consent violates their copyright.
"The authors have signed an agreement to fully comply with the orders of the
Education Minister when seeking approval for the textbook," the court said.
Kumsung, whose version is used by more than half of the high schools in Seoul,
followed a government directive and submitted an amended edition to the Ministry
of Education, Science and Technology in November despite the authors' protest.
The changed version is expected to be distributed for the new semester which
beings in March.
History textbooks last underwent major revisions in 1997 as part of a liberal
drive to set history right after decades of authoritarian rule.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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