Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob remains on the receiving end of a barrage of negative comments more than three weeks after expressing his admiration for aspects of North Korea's education system.
Pol Gen Permpoon said during a meeting with North Korean ambassador Kim Je Bong on Jan 19 that he admired North Korea for imposing discipline on young people. He also praised the politically isolated country for its patriotism and loyalty to its leader.
The Education Ministry hoped to learn from this if Thailand received education support from North Korea, he added.
"I hope for an opportunity to visit North Korea to study the culture, and other exchanges that would be beneficial to education," he was quoted as saying on the Facebook page promoting his activities.
His comments drew a furious reaction on social media networks, most strongly opposing the idea and ridiculing him. It remains a big topic.
"Hopeless," one comment stated on Tuesday. "Want this country to be like North Korea?" another said.
One post labelled the statement a "masterpiece", while another said, "Two countries are brothers."
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is under the tight grip of leader Kim Jong Un. It remains one of the most repressive regimes in the world, according to Human Rights Watch.
Pol Gen Permpoon is a young brother of Newin Chidchob, the political mastermind of the Bhumjaithai Party. It was widely believed he took the top job at the ministry because his younger brother Saksayam, faced an allegation of concealing a major shareholding in a construction company.
Last month, the Constitutional Court ruled against Mr Saksayam, forcing him to relinquish his seat as an MP and the position of party secretary-general.
In September, the opposition Move Forward Party called for Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to reconsider the appointment of Pol Gen Permpoon to the education portfolio becuse of an allegation that he helped Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, the scion of the family behind the Red Bull empire, escape prosecution for running over and killing a motorcycle policeman in 2012.
Pol Gen Permpoon was at the time an assistant to then-national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung.