Former President Moon Jae-in on the 17th said about the push for administrative integration between Daejeon and South Chungcheong, "A special bill that guarantees educational autonomy must be well prepared."
That afternoon, at Paichai University in Seo District, Daejeon, the former president attended the book concert for "Make the classroom like a classroom," by Kim Han-soo, former vice president of Paichai University, and said, "With the opportunity of administrative integration, we should further strengthen and develop educational autonomy." Moon said, "There is a concern that education could become subordinate to central and local administration, and on the other hand, that the superintendent's authority could become so bloated that basic educational self-governance becomes meaningless," adding, "Related discussions are urgent along with administrative integration, but I feel they are not proceeding properly."
He continued, "Educational autonomy becomes the most solid foundation for local autonomy and balanced regional development," and emphasized, "Nurturing and producing regional talent, and then holding on to this talent so they stay in the region, all happens through educational autonomy."
The book concert that day was a publication event organized by Kim, Moon's younger brother-in-law, ahead of his run for Daejeon superintendent of education. Before attending the book concert, the former president met with Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers whose constituencies are in Daejeon for a chat.
The former president said, "A bill for administrative integration is being prepared in the National Assembly, and I hope that measures to further strengthen educational autonomy will be well established within the bill," adding, "I expect the lawmakers here today will do well." He also said, "Thanks to Daejeon and South Chungcheong opening the floodgates for administrative integration, Gwangju and South Jeolla are also picking up speed on administrative integration, and the integration discussions in Busan and South Gyeongsang, which had stalled for a while, are also gaining speed."