Kim Jong-in "University Education Must Change... Let's Establish a Higher Education Deliberation Committee in the National Assembly"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is attending the Emergency Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, proposed establishing a Higher Education Deliberation Committee within the National Assembly to bring changes to university education. Following the topics of full-day childcare and full-day schooling, he raised the issue of higher education.

Chairman Kim stated at the Emergency Committee meeting held in the National Assembly main building on the morning of the 11th, "To close the super-gap, fundamental changes in university education are necessary."

He pointed out, "The market capitalization of Apple Inc. in the United States reaches 1,500 trillion dollars, which is equivalent to the size of our country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is exactly the super-gap we talk about," adding, "While corporate rankings have changed over the past 30 years, the rankings of universities worldwide have not changed." He highlighted the reality that university education remains stagnant even as domestic companies grow.

Chairman Kim questioned, "After the COVID-19 crisis, we inevitably have to accelerate innovation in our industrial structure. There is much talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including artificial intelligence and data science, but do universities have enough professors capable of adequately teaching these subjects?" He further asked, "They say they are developing system semiconductors for economic innovation, but how many people can explain semiconductors that can use big data?"

He said, "We need to consider whether the academic fields studied through four years of undergraduate and two years of master's and doctoral programs are truly useful," adding, "Since academic development is progressing extremely rapidly, isn't it time to rethink university education curricula?"

Chairman Kim suggested, "How about establishing a Higher Education Deliberation Committee within the National Assembly to discuss comprehensive issues and pioneer new university education?" He said, "The committee should bring together beneficiaries, providers, and experts to fundamentally redesign our higher education through thorough discussions."

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