Superintendent Kim Daejung: "The Integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju Is an Irresistible Trend"

Welcoming Passage of the 'Special City Establishment Consent Bill' by City and Provincial Councils
A Chance to Go Beyond a Simple 1+1 and Expand Educational Autonomy... All-Out Effort for Enactment of the Special Act

The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education has welcomed the passage of the consent bills by the city and provincial councils, which were considered the biggest hurdle to the administrative integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam, and has begun full-fledged efforts toward "complete educational integration."

On February 4, Superintendent of Education Kim Daejung stated in a position statement, "The fact that both councils today passed the 'Consent Bill on the Establishment of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City' means that we have crossed a major threshold toward the historic administrative and educational integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju," adding, "I express my sincere respect to the assembly members who made this magnanimous decision."

Kim Daejung, Superintendent of Education for South Jeolla Province

Superintendent Kim said, "Now, the integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju has become an irresistible trend and a historic task that must be accomplished for a greater Republic of Korea." He went on to say, "We must complete this mission of our time by achieving integration not only in administration but also in education, in a fully unified form."

He also presented a concrete roadmap for future tasks. Superintendent Kim said, "There are still many hurdles to clear," and urged, "Building on today's consent by the city and provincial councils as a stepping stone, we must make every effort to ensure that the 'special act' submitted to the National Assembly is enacted in a more complete form that reflects the voices of local residents." In particular, he cautioned against a mere physical merger and put forward the "expansion of educational autonomy" as the core vision.

Superintendent Kim stressed, "Integration must go beyond a simple '1+1' and become a process of further expanding educational autonomy, which is a constitutional value, and creating a greater future for education." He continued, "After the passage of the special act, we will expedite practical preparations so that the full-scale integration process can proceed without setbacks, and we will strengthen cooperation with the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to ensure that 'educational integration,' one of the pillars of integration, is properly achieved."

He added, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the integration of administration and education can proceed smoothly, in line with the will of the citizens and residents of the province, as well as the educational community."

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