Yoon: "Education Innovation Must Be Led by Regions... Will Transfer Central Authority"

President Yoon Attends the '1st Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Day Ceremony'
Emphasizes Region-Led Educational Innovation, "Every Region Must Nurture Talent"
"Access to Education, Healthcare, and Culture Is Key"... Promoting and Supporting as an 'Education Special Zone'

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 2nd, "Educational innovation will be led by local regions, and the central government will transfer the authority it holds to the regions." This means that for the full-scale realization of the local era, which is one of the core national agenda items of the Yoon administration, region-led educational innovation programs must be accompanied. The government plans to designate 'Education Development Special Zones' to reform education in the local era, establishing and promoting special zone operation models suitable for local conditions from early childhood to university education.

On the same day, President Yoon attended the '1st Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Day Commemoration Ceremony' held at the Grand Ballroom of the Daejeon Convention Center in the morning, conveying the government’s policy by saying, "In any region, education that respects diversity and openness should be able to nurture talent with international competitiveness."

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a commemorative speech on the 2nd at the 2023 Local Era Expo and Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Day ceremony held at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This event was the first commemoration ceremony held since the enforcement of the 'Special Act on Local Autonomy Decentralization and Regional Balanced Development' in July and the launch of the Local Era Committee. Earlier, in September, President Yoon personally attended the 'Local Era Proclamation Ceremony' held in Busan, promising bold support for creating quality jobs through education linked to local industries, attracting regional companies, and establishing residential facilities and complex cultural spaces in local industrial complexes.

At this commemoration ceremony, President Yoon again emphasized the necessity of educational innovation for the local era, stating, "Educational innovation must be led by the regions themselves." He further explained that to firmly guarantee the health and safety of employees, talents, and their families attracted to the regions, the government will establish essential local medical systems and accelerate policies for local medical innovation. President Yoon also highlighted attracting companies and creating jobs through opportunity development special zones, 15 national advanced industrial complexes, and national digital innovation districts.

In particular, President Yoon stressed, "The comprehensive plan for the local era centers on education, medical care, and cultural accessibility, which are essential for attracting regional companies." The government's '1st Comprehensive Plan for the Local Era' reflects the key tasks promoted by the Local Era Committee, including ▲local era plans for 17 metropolitan cities and provinces ▲sectoral plans of 17 central government ministries ▲development plans for four major super-regions and three special autonomous regions. Additionally, it includes follow-up action plans for the four special zones announced at the Local Era Proclamation Ceremony?Opportunity Development Special Zones, Education Development Special Zones, Urban Convergence Special Zones, and Cultural Special Zones?along with ▲implementation of regional policy tasks concretizing presidential regional pledges ▲increasing the resident population ▲and expanding local government autonomy through decentralization.

At the 'Education Development Special Zone Public Hearing' held on the same day, the blueprint for the Yoon administration’s local era education reform plan, the 'Education Development Special Zone Promotion Plan,' was expected to be unveiled. The Education Development Special Zone policy aims to establish a region-led educational innovation system that comprehensively supports local public education innovation, nurturing local talent, and the settlement of outstanding talent in the region through cooperation among local governments, education offices, universities, local businesses, and public institutions within the framework of regional development.

The core is to develop a regional education advancement strategy and a special zone operation model suitable for local conditions that can connect and support education from early childhood and care to elementary, secondary, and university education, ensuring quality education is accessible even in local areas. The authority and responsibility of local governments regarding regional education policies will also be significantly expanded. Within the framework of public education, the Education Development Special Zones will increase school autonomy to enhance regional educational capabilities and improve the competitiveness of public education so that local students can improve academically without relying on private education.

Meanwhile, the pilot project for the Education Development Special Zones will begin next year. The basic plan for pilot operation is expected to be announced at the end of November this year, and a public contest procedure for designating pilot operation areas will likely proceed from December. Once designated as a pilot area, it will undergo a three-year pilot operation, followed by evaluation by the Education Development Special Zone Committee, and then transition to official designation. During the three-year pilot period, the government plans to prioritize the use of local education finance special grants and other resources to support budgets of approximately 3 billion to 10 billion KRW per special zone.

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