Soonki Kwon, Preliminary Candidate for Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education, Announces Pledges for Student Safety, Mental Health, and Free Childcare

Expansion of Full-Scale Care Funding and System Reform
for Public and Private Kindergartens and Elementary Schools

Soonki Kwon, a preliminary candidate for Superintendent of Education of Gyeongnam Province, who is running for the top position in Gyeongnam education, has drawn attention by presenting 'reassurance pledges' for children that address the most pressing concerns of parents.

His intention is not only for schools to take responsibility for students' safety during commuting and their mental health, but also to relieve the childcare burden of dual-income parents.

Soonki Kwon, Preliminary Candidate for Superintendent of Education in Gyeongnam Province.

The most notable pledge announced by Kwon is the "WhereGo? Real-Time Location Sharing Service," a student location tracking system.

This initiative goes beyond the existing text message service that simply notifies parents when their child arrives at school, and is designed so that parents can check their child's real-time movements.

For lower-grade students who do not have smartphones, dedicated smart tags that can be attached to bags or clothing will be distributed. Parents will be able to see both the current location and movement path of their child at a glance through a dedicated app.

In addition, by streamlining the authentication process, whenever students enter or leave school or use the Neulbom Classroom, they can simply enter the last digits of their parent's phone number to immediately trigger a notification.

Kwon emphasized, "We will thoroughly verify potential technical issues, such as GPS errors or areas with poor communication signals, during the pilot program and address them step by step," adding, "Ensuring the safety of children is a fundamental responsibility of education."

The "Student Mental Health Primary Doctor" initiative, aimed at addressing the sharp increase in student self-harm, depression, and other emotional crises, has also been proposed as a key pledge. This program will primarily target grades with rapid emotional changes: 3rd grade in elementary school, 2nd grade in middle school, and 1st grade in high school.

Rather than stopping at basic screenings, this program will operate a three-step system of "infrastructure-building, screening, and diagnosis/management." Each school will designate a specialist or clinical psychologist as a primary doctor, and students classified as high-risk will receive a "precision examination voucher" worth 500,000 won per person, allowing them to receive treatment without financial burden.

He stated, "We will run a campaign to promote the idea that mental health checkups are a 'basic right,' thereby eliminating parental resistance." Finally, he also revealed a plan to prioritize the education office’s budget to usher in what he calls the era of "free after-school care."

The plan is to fully cover after-school and childcare costs for all elementary students in grades 1 to 6 who wish to participate. In addition, after-school care costs for private kindergartens will be adjusted to the level of public institutions, reducing the extra financial burden on parents.

Kwon stressed, "Children’s safety and care are not a choice but a national obligation," adding, "We will thoroughly re-examine all non-essential projects and prioritize the budget for children."

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