The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union held a rally on Friday, calling for the government to withdraw its plan of state-authored history textbooks.

Some one-thousand union members held the rally outside the Seoul Finance Center and argued the proposed textbooks violate the independence, professionalism and neutrality of education.

They also said that penalizing and charging teachers who stood with the union against the proposal with criminal offenses  is a suppression of free speech.

The Education Ministry said the demonstration by the Teachers and Education Workers Union violates the State Public Officials Act, which bans collective action. The ministry is set to punish all participants of the rally.