Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin presents his ministry's work plan at a presidential briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae's banquet hall on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin presents his ministry's work plan at a presidential briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae's banquet hall on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Education is overhauling its education system to strengthen regional universities and keep young people in their home regions. The ministry plans to increase investment in hub national universities and expand scholarships at regional national universities, while pushing ahead with "10 tasks across five core areas" — covering AI education, early childhood care and teacher rights protection — to accelerate education reform.

The ministry unveiled its second-half work plan at a presidential briefing held Wednesday at Cheong Wa Dae's banquet hall, setting its goal as "education for everyone's future — becoming an irreplaceable talent powerhouse." The five core areas are: joint advancement of regions and youth; nurturing world-class future talent; building a society where educational gaps are eliminated; protecting teaching activities and ensuring fair assessment; and spreading K-education globally.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin led the briefing by naming regional talent development as the top priority. "We will ensure that young people grow in their regions and that regions rise together with young people," Choi said. "In line with the three mega-projects and the national territorial transformation initiative, we will build an attractive regional education foundation."

To that end, the government will push forward with its initiative to create 10 universities on par with Seoul National University. Hub national universities will receive concentrated support in growth-engine and AI sectors, with investment expanded across all such institutions. A regional agreement enrollment system and a fast-track talent development program will also be introduced to allow universities to adjust enrollment quotas flexibly in response to the workforce needs of companies relocating to the regions.

Scholarship support to attract young people to regional areas will also be strengthened. Starting with the 2027 academic year, a new regional balance scholarship will be established to expand national scholarships for students at regional national universities, and the regional talent scholarship will be restructured to extend eligibility to outstanding students at regional private universities. Corporate-linked contract departments with guaranteed employment will be expanded at regional universities, and the ministry will also pursue training of job-ready workers through AI and semiconductor meister high schools and qualification-focused vocational high schools.

The ministry is also accelerating efforts to nurture future talent for the AI era. "We will establish advanced AI research programs linked to universities and companies at every gifted school and science high school, and operate 4,000 AI-focused schools," Choi said. "We plan to speed up the AI transformation of educational institutions and support a shared AI subscription service so that all university students can make use of AI."

The research support framework will also be restructured to strengthen competitiveness. Working with the Ministry of Science and ICT, the ministry will build a university-centered autonomous research ecosystem on top of the existing project-based research and development system. Research support, currently concentrated on master's and doctoral students, will be expanded to cover the full cycle from undergraduate to postdoctoral researchers. Funds secured through education finance reform will be channeled intensively into nurturing future talent, from early childhood through higher and lifelong education.

Policies to close the education gap will also move forward. "In line with the principle that the state will close gaps and provide the basics, we will extend free early childhood education and care to age 3 and complete the integration of early childhood education and care within this presidential term," Choi said. School-linked community care programs during school vacations will be expanded for elementary students. Literacy, AI literacy and application skills, and democratic citizenship and social-emotional competencies will be defined as new "core competencies" to be reinforced through national-level education.

Protecting teachers' rights and ensuring fair assessment were also highlighted as key tasks. The ministry will pursue legal and institutional reforms to shield teachers from malicious false reports of child abuse, and will establish a system for schools to handle complaints at the institutional level. An AI-based support system for essay and descriptive assessments will be rolled out more widely, and the ministry will also pursue the establishment of an education assessment and question-development support center (tentative name).

Alongside this, the ministry plans to raise the international competitiveness of K-education by expanding Korean-language classes overseas, restructuring TOPIK and spreading the Korean model of higher education abroad.

"It is the foundation of education to provide solid support so that all citizens can dream of the future," Choi said. "We will carry out the tasks reported today with urgency and do our utmost to realize a society built on educational fundamentals and to make Korea an irreplaceable talent powerhouse."


newday@heraldcorp.com