Son Joo-eun, chairman of MegaStudy Group / Korea Times file

Son Joo-eun, chairman of the prominent private education company MegaStudy Group, is under fire for controversial comments made during a lecture to high school students.

Son said that "giving birth is more important than going to college" and warned that "a life without academic success is worse than that of a sex worker."

According to the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, Son delivered a special lecture titled "Study to Help Others" to about 500 high school students, including both boys and girls, in Daegu on Nov. 22. During the lecture, Son addressed Korea's demographic crisis, advocating for special university admissions policies favoring teenagers who give birth.

"Having children is more important than going to college. I urge girl students to change their way of thinking," he said. "Giving birth in your late teens or early 20s is one of the most significant contributions you can make to this country."

He also said, "If possible, get married and have children quickly. If marriage isn't an option, then just have children first."

Son also revealed a past incident where he told a struggling student that their life could be "worse than that of a sex worker." He said, "When I saw this student, whose face was covered in acne and who ranked 20th in the class, I thought there was no hope for them outside of academics."

Son told the student, "If you continue living like this, I feel your life will be worse than that of a sex worker. At least they get paid for their services, but you would end up giving away your money, becoming nothing more than a man's plaything."

MegaStudy Chairman Son Joo-eun speaks during a high school lecture. His comments sparked controversy for claiming that "having children is more important than going to college." Captured from JTBC

After the lecture, students expressed outrage, saying they felt "sexually humiliated" and called for a boycott of MegaStudy. Some parents also lodged complaints with the school. The school later stated that it had received an apology from Son via MegaStudy last Monday.

However, controversy deepened when students received notifications that MegaStudy's legal team was preparing a response, raising concerns over potential intimidation.

MegaStudy Group issued a statement saying, "We apologize if any expressions used during the lecture, intended to discuss awareness of the low birthrate and examples of students changing their futures through academics, made students uncomfortable."

The company also clarified that it had not taken any action to remove videos of the lecture from Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.