Seoul education chief signals resolve on grants reform

'Children's future is at stake — I will not back down'

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jung Keun-sik speaks at a campaign pledge implementation forum held Wednesday at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education]
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jung Keun-sik speaks at a campaign pledge implementation forum held Wednesday at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education]

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jung Keun-sik marked his 100th day in office by vowing to protect education funding, saying that while student enrollment may decline, "the value of each child's life does not diminish with it."

Jung posted a message on SNS Thursday — his 100th day in office — titled "The promises I made at my inauguration, I will keep in our schools."

On the proposed reform of local education grants, he said the issue was fundamentally "about what values our society places on education and what we leave for the next generation." He added, "Because children's futures are at stake, I will not back down."

Jung said he had been holding emergency meetings with education superintendents across the country since last summer and had met with National Assembly members and government officials to convey the concerns of schools.

"Education funding is the foundation that practically guarantees children's right to learn and grow," he said. "It is a commitment the state must keep for future generations."

He also said visits to schools since taking office had confirmed the scale of mental health challenges facing students and teachers. Jung said he had signed off on a plan to establish a mental health recovery campus as his first official act on his first day in office, and had since visited dozens of schools over the past three months.

Looking ahead, he identified "basic education for all" as his central task — a vision in which every student receives the support they need regardless of family circumstances, disability or pace of learning.

"We will not lose sight of children whose foundational academic skills are faltering, and schools will be the first to recognize and help recover alongside children who are struggling emotionally," Jung said.

He also stressed the weight of responsibility that comes with a second term. Citing a line from his inauguration speech — "If the previous one year and eight months were a time of mission, the four years entrusted to me again are a time of responsibility" — he said responsibility "is not fulfilled by words spoken at an inauguration ceremony, but must be confirmed and proven every day through changes in schools, in children and in teachers."

He added that he would ensure policies "do not stay within the education office but translate into change in classrooms," and pledged to "listen before speaking and build change steadily rather than trumpet results."


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