Is the Long-Standing Task of 'Gwangju Office of Education Relocation' Gaining Momentum?

Superintendent-elect Lee Jeong-seon Requests Project Review from Transition Committee

Transition Committee Forms TF Team... Discussions Ongoing in Seo-gu and Gwangsan-gu Areas

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Discussions on relocating the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education building, which have remained unresolved for several years, are now being actively pursued.

Until now, the relocation of the Gwangju Office of Education building has been promoted due to a lack of office and parking space, but it has often been canceled over the past decade.

According to the Gwangju Superintendent of Education Transition Committee on the 21st, the elected superintendent Lee Jeong-seon recently requested the transition committee to form a task force (TF) to address the building relocation issue, asking for a review of the feasibility of relocation, project costs, relocation site, and plans for utilizing the current building.

Accordingly, the transition committee formed a TF team composed of working-level staff within the Office of Education, led by Song Young-seon, Director of Administrative Support at the Gwangju Western Education Support Office.

The relocation sites under consideration are Seo-gu and Gwangsan-gu.

The planned scale of the new building includes a site area of at least 25,000㎡, with one basement floor and six above-ground floors, incorporating a complex cultural center concept including a workplace daycare center and a teacher center.

The transition committee estimates that 100 billion KRW will be required for the new building construction and related expenses.

Superintendent-elect Lee is requesting budget support from local and central political figures and plans to visit relevant government departments after taking office.

Meanwhile, the number of employees working at the current building has nearly doubled over the past decade, from 269 in 2011 to 487 in 2021, making office space very cramped. In particular, the lack of parking spaces causes significant inconvenience to education office staff and visitors.

Superintendent-elect Lee said, “The current building is over 33 years old, and due to insufficient office, civil service, and work support spaces, it is limited in supporting the increasing educational demand. The relocation has been discussed for more than 10 years. Once the relocation TF thoroughly reviews the feasibility, funding, candidate sites, and utilization plans for the current site and reports to the transition committee, we plan to begin full-scale practical work after taking office.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.