Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea vowed to work harder amid calls for his resignation from the ruling camp over the government’s initial steps taken in the process to introduce state-designated history textbooks.

In a news conference on Tuesday at the government complex in Seoul, Hwang said that he humbly accepts the criticism of the Education Ministry regarding its process of pursuing state-authored textbooks.

Hwang also dismissed the opposition party’s claim that the ministry was operating an unofficial task force on the textbooks, saying that the ministry increased staffers of an existing team. He added it is unacceptable to treat hard-working public servants as criminals.

The minister, however, said that the ministry is not considering filing a suit against opposition lawmakers for obstruction of business.

Hwang said the government will first announce leading authors of the textbooks, and that the National Institution of Korean History is reviewing when and how to announce the other authors.