Lee Ju-ho "Promoting Shift from Negative to Positive Regulation of Universities for Advanced Talent Development"

Proposal for Advanced Talent Development and Talent Nurturing Agenda
"University Regulation Reform and Financial Support Also Led by Universities"
Emphasis on Customized Education, Integration of Retention, and Guarantee of Basic Academic Skills

Lee Ju-ho, the nominee for Minister of Education, appeared at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 28th and took the witness oath. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Lee Ju-ho, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, announced plans to foster talent in advanced fields, realize customized education, and shift university regulations to a negative regulation system.

On the 28th, Lee attended the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Education nominee held by the National Assembly's Education Committee. He emphasized the need for educational reform in response to the digital transformation driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and changes in social and demographic structures, presenting four policy tasks.

Lee stated, "Although international competition is intensifying to cultivate and secure core talent in advanced fields, South Korea faces a shortage of talent in these areas amid the crisis of population decline, making it difficult to secure a strategic position in technological hegemony. We will improve systems and provide sufficient support so that our talents can grow into global leaders in advanced fields."

To nurture talent in advanced fields, Lee said, "We will expand research support in strategically important advanced fields necessary for national development, such as semiconductors and digital technology, and actively pursue a national-level talent development agenda in collaboration with the education sector, industry, and related government departments. We will also devise various support measures to attract and settle outstanding overseas talent in South Korea."

He pledged to shift university regulations to a negative regulation system to help regional universities overcome their crises.

Lee emphasized, "It is time for local governments and universities, who understand regional circumstances well, to make joint efforts for sustainable regional growth. We will boldly reform regulations and expand support so that universities can serve as hubs of regional innovation. To create a shared development ecosystem between local governments and regional universities, we will fundamentally transform central government regulations on universities into a negative regulation system."

He added, "We will innovate the university financial support system from the current central government-led design, evaluation, and support model to a structure where local governments and universities take the lead in design and proposals. We will expand university functions for lifelong learning, such as re-education in new advanced technologies, and enhance accessibility by utilizing digital technology to support the linkage of learning, work, and welfare."

In line with the growing need to cultivate digital capabilities and utilize technology, Lee also set a goal to integrate customized education and digital technology into educational sites.

He said, "By applying digital new technologies in education, we will implement personalized education for individual students and reduce teachers' burden of knowledge delivery, supporting students to develop the 4Cs competencies: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills. We will support schools that wish to freely operate their curricula and discover and disseminate excellent cases of innovative teaching, learning, and assessment methods suitable for future-oriented classes."

Lee also pledged to strengthen the 'National Education Responsibility System,' which promotes the integration of early childhood education and care and supports the elimination of educational gaps.

He explained, "We will promote the integration of early childhood education and care to improve service quality and provide fair access to high-quality education and care opportunities for all young children. We will expand after-school programs and care classrooms that allow broad participation by students who wish to join. We will systematically guarantee basic academic skills so that all students acquire minimum learning abilities, address educational deficits, and establish a system that provides comprehensive educational welfare services tailored to the characteristics of students in need."

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