Gangwon Office of Education to Hold Teacher Competency Training on "Student Suffrage Education" for 2026 Academic Year

by Lee jonggu

Published 28 Apr.2026 15:54(KST)

The Gangwon Provincial Office of Education is conducting a teacher competency training session on "Student Suffrage Education" for the 2026 academic year at the Gangwon Provincial Office of Education Early Childhood Education Center on the 28th.

Gangwon Provincial Office of Education is conducting a 2026 academic year "Student Suffrage Education" teacher capacity-building training at the Gangwon Provincial Office of Education Early Childhood Education Center on the 28th. Provided by Gangwon Provincial Office of Education

This training is being provided for elementary, middle, high, and special school teachers, and will include high school teachers responsible for student councils and third-year homeroom teachers, as well as those in charge of student councils, suffrage education, and citizenship education.

The training was organized to emphasize the necessity of election education for students, following the revision of the Public Official Election Act and the Political Parties Act which lowered the voting age. It aims to foster the civic awareness of student voters by teaching the value and importance of elections.

The main topics include: △theory and practice of election education, △understanding the electoral system for the 9th nationwide local elections, and △case studies on election media literacy.

Additionally, the program will cover key provisions of the Public Official Election Act that students and teachers need to know together, and will focus on enhancing critical thinking and decision-making skills.

In particular, the importance of maintaining political neutrality in education will be stressed, and there will be time set aside not only to develop the ability to interpret and assess election information in the media through election media literacy, but also to discuss the responsibilities that come with making choices and to collaboratively examine related social issues.

Furthermore, the Provincial Office of Education operated "Suffrage Education Visiting Schools" in April in cooperation with related organizations within the province, and continues to support schools by providing digital media literacy education on an ongoing basis.

Song Sugyeong, Director of Character and Life Education, stated, "With the 9th nationwide local elections approaching and new voters exercising their right to vote for the first time, educational political neutrality and the promotion of citizenship are being emphasized as crucial societal values. We will actively and comprehensively support the growth of students' civic awareness by promoting fact-checking and media literacy education, along with teacher competency training and other student-centered support measures."