Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Ministry of Education said in a New Year's address on the 2nd, "To build a virtuous cycle in which local talent stays in their communities and thinks about the region's future, we will dramatically boost the competitiveness of regional universities."
The Minister said, "Because opportunities are concentrated in the greater Seoul area and the university ranking system prevails, competition for college admissions has overheated, and this unequal competition not only fuels social conflict but also affects regional extinction," adding, "Through 'creating 10 Seoul National Universities,' we will advance a plan to intensively foster regional universities while leveraging each region's distinct characteristics and strengths."
On protecting teachers' authority, the official said, "We will establish a support system in which institutions take responsibility and respond to malicious civil complaints and serious infringements of educational activities so that teachers can focus on teaching."
The Minister also said, "In a rapidly changing educational environment, artificial intelligence (AI) is an irresistible trend," adding, "We will do our utmost to help students become talent who use AI proactively."
He continued, "Through constitutional education, environmental education, and digital media literacy education, we will build the competencies that democratic citizens should have and cultivate students who reflect deeply on social issues," adding, "For a balanced understanding of history, we will strengthen history education."
The Minister also pledged measures to prevent student suicides, strengthen Korean-language education for students with migrant backgrounds, and expand special-needs schools and classes. The official said, "We will make this year the substantive first year of education reform," adding, "We will fully push forward the policies we have prepared so far."