[Interview] Lee Gil-hoon, Director of Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, "We Will Foster Educational Talent in Jeonnam"

"Kim Dae-jung Superintendent to Establish Jeonnam-style Educational Autonomy for a Major Educational Transformation"

"We will do our best to establish a sustainable ecosystem for Jeonnam education and to nurture Jeonnam educational talents who coexist."

Lee Gil-hoon, who was appointed as the first director of the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation by Jeonnam Superintendent of Education Kim Dae-jung, has officially started his duties and stated, "We will assist in the great transformation of Jeonnam education and the realization of future educational autonomy."

The Jeonnam Future Education Foundation was established as a public interest foundation in 2004 to discover and nurture local outstanding talents and support economically disadvantaged students. In December of last year, it was expanded and reorganized as an institution funded by the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education.

The foundation performs functions such as creating and distributing scholarship funds, discovering and nurturing future talents, systematic management and utilization of talents, and managing scholarships entrusted by local governments, public institutions, corporations, or individuals. It also promotes various talent development support projects to respond swiftly to changes in future education.

We met with Lee Gil-hoon, the inaugural director of the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, who will play this crucial role, to hear about the foundation’s operational plans and aspirations.

The inaugural director of the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, Lee Gil-hoon, expressed his ambition to nurture educational talent in Jeonnam in an interview with Asia Economy.

Director Lee Gil-hoon emphasized the great transformation of education and the realization of future educational autonomy.

He said, "Jeonnam has many small schools, and the problems faced by small-scale schools are more challenging than expected, with many tasks to solve. Although I feel a heavy responsibility as the first director of the Future Education Foundation, I will strive to assist Superintendent Kim Dae-jung’s great transformation of Jeonnam education and the realization of future educational autonomy."

He added, "I aim to serve as a hub for establishing Jeonnam-style educational autonomy and to discover and nurture growing future talents in Jeonnam, doing my best to foster educational talents who coexist."

Director Lee presented the sustainable education ecosystem promotion strategies as ▲various scholarship projects ▲future talent development projects ▲global education projects.

He pledged, "For various scholarship projects, we plan to select talents tailored to growth and provide scholarships. We aim to discover talents linked to region-specific specialized industries and provide opportunities for them to grow and settle in the region."

To this end, he is planning to form a scholarship council for regional talent development, establish a cooperative system for scholarship support, and explore cooperation plans with the Jeonnam Talent Lifelong Education Promotion Institute.

He also plans to establish the Jeonnam Education Love Fund, operate donation-certified companies offering free services to youth, and run a donation reward system.

For future talent development projects, he proposed ▲serving as a hub for establishing Jeonnam-style educational autonomy ▲operating a talent donation center utilizing local community human resources ▲supporting lifelong education projects and community participation activities.

As for global education projects, he plans to operate the Jeonnam International Study Abroad Center and international exchange programs, as well as manage the Cultural Diversity Education Center and the Global Future Education Expo Organizing Committee on a consignment basis.

Director Lee explained, "We are planning to manage cooperative projects among communities within the region, such as integrated regional care through public-private-academic councils at the provincial and local levels, and operate parent councils and networks to strengthen parental autonomy. We will also promote a talent donor certification system by field, operate a talent pool, and establish a volunteer center for retired educators."

He emphasized, "To support Superintendent Kim Dae-jung’s educational management, we will actively promote global education projects in cooperation with the Provincial Office of Education."

Lee Gil-hoon graduated from the Department of Physical Education at Chonnam National University and earned a master's degree in physical education from Chonnam National University Graduate School. He then served in education, holding positions such as Director of Student Life Safety at the headquarters and Superintendent of Suncheon Education Support Office.

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