Kwon Soonki, Gyeongnam Superintendent Candidate, Vows to Set a New Standard for Early Childhood Education

Nation’s First “Early Childhood Safety Certification System” Introduced

Promise to Establish Early Childhood Education Division at Gyeongnam Office of Education

Improved Working Conditions for Public and Private Kindergarten After-School and

Kwon Soonki, a preliminary candidate running for Superintendent of Education in Gyeongnam, announced the “Kindergarten 4S Project” on May 11, aiming for a comprehensive innovation of early childhood education in Gyeongnam.

This project is based on four core strategies: △Safety △Small Class △Smart △Support, and outlines plans to transform all kindergartens in Gyeongnam into safer and higher-quality future-oriented educational spaces.

Kwon emphasized that “safety,” the top concern among parents, would be the highest priority. To this end, he plans to introduce the nation’s first “Early Childhood Safety Certification System,” which will comprehensively evaluate three areas—meals, facilities, and safety education—and provide incentives to outstanding institutions.

He also announced plans to significantly enhance accident prevention by applying AI-based analysis systems to the blind spots of CCTVs around kindergartens and daycare centers, enabling real-time detection of abnormal behaviors such as violence, falls, or prolonged unresponsiveness.

Kwon proposed adjusting class sizes to create a customized educational environment for young children. The current legal cap for age 5 classes is 20 students, but he intends to gradually lower it to 15–18 students per class under the “Gyeongnam Standard.” In classes with two or more children requiring special consideration—such as those with developmental delays or from multicultural backgrounds—a teaching assistant who has completed specialized training will be mandatorily assigned.

Notably, the plan also includes counting one child with special needs as 1.5 students when calculating class size, in order to effectively address the problem of overcrowded classes.

Kwon will promote smart education policies in line with the era of digital transformation. He plans to introduce AR and VR experience content exclusively for young children, allowing them to simulate emergency situations such as fire drills or traffic safety education, and to support environmental learning about areas like space and the ocean, which are difficult to experience in real life.

He also announced that the “Gyeongnam STEAM Kit,” which integrates science, art, and music, will be distributed to strengthen play-based creative convergence education.

Support measures for teachers and parents were also proposed. To reduce teachers’ administrative workload, an integrated platform will be established so that attendance records and safety checks can be managed via mobile devices. There are also plans to operate a “Parent School” for parents and to provide a morning meal support service.

In particular, Kwon stressed the need to resolve the chronic staffing shortages at private kindergartens by establishing a “personnel pool system” that enables immediate deployment of teachers when vacancies occur.

He explained that a region-specific support system will be set up to ensure that professional personnel can be quickly assigned even in emergency situations.

Additionally, Kwon plans to establish an “Early Childhood Education Department” within the Gyeongnam Office of Education to strengthen the expertise and independence of early childhood education policies, and to actively work on improving the working conditions of both public and private kindergarten after-school and care teachers.

Kwon stated, “Kindergarten is the most important starting point where children first encounter society,” adding, “Through the 4S Project, I will make early childhood education in Gyeongnam the safest and most future-oriented educational model in the country.”

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