Choi Kyo-jin, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education nominee, said on the 2nd, "To restore public education, I will prioritize protecting and supporting teachers as a key policy task."
On the same day, during the opening remarks at the personnel hearing held by the National Assembly's Education Committee, Choi noted, "Due to poor working conditions and difficulties in guiding students, the number of teachers leaving the profession is increasing."
Choi also said, "To reduce the burden of childcare and education costs for parents, we will support quality care and education from early childhood to elementary school, and I will work with the community to achieve this. We will do our best to ensure that children can grow into future talents leading the artificial intelligence (AI) era."
He added, "In the age of AI convergence, our children should not just follow technological changes but take the lead in driving them, and I will support strengthening digital literacy and foundational skills in AI so they can wisely utilize advanced technology."
Moreover, Choi emphasized, "For sustainable growth across the country, it is crucial to improve educational conditions in regions so that educational resources are not concentrated in the metropolitan area. To dismantle the excessive competition system where all students flock to certain universities in Seoul, it is necessary to create a virtuous cycle that allows students to attend good universities in their own regions and secure stable jobs after graduation to settle there."
He continued, "We will promote strategic investment and systematic development in provincial universities to the level of Seoul National University, and I will work to resolve the educational imbalance centered in the metropolitan area."
Choi stated, "Such policies cannot be achieved by my efforts alone. I will always listen to the voices from the field with humility and continue to communicate with the educational community."