Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea has said the government does not rule out establishing a body responsible for the publication of Korean history textbooks for students.

"There could be confusion among our young students on our history as there are various (history textbooks)," Hwang said Tuesday in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at his office in the central city of Sejong.

Currently, eight private publishing companies print history textbooks after winning approval from the government. Middle and high schools then can choose any of the eight publishers' textbooks.

Hwang said the government could set up a body to publish Korean history textbooks for middle and high school students, if necessary.

The body would select the writers of the history textbooks and a separate deliberation committee would review their contents to see if they are fit to print, according to the Education Ministry.

Hwang's comments underscored the government's efforts to forge a common understanding of history in a country where people are divided along ideological lines on the subject, especially recent history.

At issue are certain omissions in some of the eight history textbooks on topics, such as the 1950-53 Korean War. Some of the history textbooks did not mention the killings of civilians by North Korean soldiers while stating similar killings by South Korean and U.S. troops, said Kim Yeon-seok, a ministry official handling the matter.

The government plans to decide by September whether to set up the body responsible for the publication of Korean history textbooks.

The government was in charge of publishing history textbooks from 1973 to 2009. In 2010, the government began allowing approved private publishing companies to print history textbooks. (Yonhap)