Lee Jeong-seon, Superintendent of Gwangju City Education (right), and Kim Dae-jung, Superintendent of Jeonnam Education, held a meeting at the Gwangju City Education Office on the morning of January 12 to discuss the promotion of administrative integration between Gwangju and Jeonnam and announced an agreement. Newsis.
“Continuing the will of the 5.18 spirit, we will achieve K-Education and democratic education in Korea.”
This is what Kim Dae-jung, a preliminary candidate for the education superintendent of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City, wrote in the guestbook at the national 5.18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on the morning of the 11th. Currently serving as the Jeonnam Education Superintendent, he presented the expansion of democratic citizenship education as the core pledge just a week ahead of the 46th anniversary of the May 18th Democratization Movement.
He pledged to introduce a ‘1-Classroom n-Teacher’ system collaborating with AI tutors, establish AI-based Smart Future Classrooms (2030 Classrooms), build a democracy education center, and expand the student education basic allowance to 1.2 million won while entering the integrated metropolitan city education superintendent election.
Lee Jeong-seon, the current Gwangju City Education Superintendent and preliminary candidate, is expanding his support base, expressing, “I will extend the pride of Skilled Gwangju to Jeonnam.” He announced in a press conference at the Gwangju City Education Office on the 12th, “We will support students’ college admissions using AI admission consulting and admission data at the level of Gangnam.” Additionally, he unveiled core pledges such as operating one AI home tutor per student, creating 10 Seoul National Universities, establishing 50 prestigious schools near home, forming the ‘1,000 Dream Fund’ for our children, and operating a ‘Youth School’ for seniors.
The election for the first education superintendent of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City has been narrowed down to a four-way race. Candidates who were once around ten in number are now aligning and consolidating support.
Participating in the electoral race are Kim Dae-jung, the current Jeonnam Education Superintendent, Lee Jeong-seon, the current Gwangju City Education Superintendent, Kang Sook-young, Chairman of the Carbon Neutrality Committee at the Kim Dae-jung Foundation in Jeonnam, and Jang Kwan-ho, former head of the Jeonnam branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU).
Jang Kwan-ho, from the KTU, pledged an annual basic education allowance of 1.2 million won for K-Special City, the promotion of ‘Youth Seed Insurance’ such as social start-up support funds, and the establishment of a student-customized career education center.
Candidate Kang Sook-young is expanding support by pledging to operate a ‘Responsible 5-Day Care School,’ reform the school system to a future-oriented ‘5(Elementary)-4(Middle)-3(High)’ structure, and establish an EBS public broadcaster model for Jeonnam-Gwangju.
The inaugural integrated superintendent election has seen candidates unifying and reshuffling, with various risks surrounding candidates emerging as core variables as election day approaches.
Candidate Kim Dae-jung is embroiled in allegations of gambling and inflating expenses during official trips. Kim refuted, saying, “I have never engaged in illegal gambling. I visited a hotel casino once,” and described these as exaggerated personal attacks. He explained that the 11 million won business class flight was inflated, including four domestic transfers.
Candidate Lee Jeong-seon is entangled in the controversy of appointing a high school classmate to an auditor position. He is currently on trial without detention for allegedly intervening in the selection process at the Gwangju City Education Office in 2022, allowing a particular high school classmate to be the final selected candidate (abuse of authority).
As the administrative integration between the two provinces and cities leads to the integrated superintendent election, there is a sense of confusion in the educational field. Teachers express concerns about potential transfers between Gwangju and Jeonnam regions.
According to the ‘Special Act on the Establishment of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City,’ which passed the National Assembly last March, it guarantees that “civil servants (teachers, education civil servants) appointed before the establishment of the integrated metropolitan city can continue to work in their existing jurisdiction.” However, it also stipulates that if deemed necessary for educational administration, personnel exchanges between jurisdictions require the consent of the individual, leaving room for potential transfers.
There is rising concern among parents about potential disadvantages in college admissions, such as in the ‘Special Admissions for Rural Students,’ which significantly impact university admissions. Particularly, parents who sent their children from Gwangju to Jeonnam for this special admission worry increasingly.
Parent Jeong Mo (46) expressed, “I moved from Gwangju to Hwasun six years ago for my children’s admissions, and the sudden administrative integration is bewildering. Among the parents, there’s a mix of opinions on whether education policies will change post-integration or remain the same.”
The Special Admissions for Rural Students were introduced to narrow educational gaps between regions and expand college admission opportunities for rural students. Students must attend a school in a rural area and reside there until graduation to qualify.
The lack of special provisions related to the Special Admissions for Rural Students in the ‘Special Act on the Establishment of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City’ adds to the confusion. However, current superintendent candidates emphasize the principle of ‘no disadvantage’ in the special act.
Lee Jeong-seon stated, “Since the criteria for rural special admissions do not change, there will be no disadvantage or harm in rural special admissions, based on the standards set by universities.” Kim Dae-jung also remarked, “Many aspects (in the educational field) will remain unchanged according to the special act on establishing the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City.”