Challenge to 'Education Freedom Zone'... Kwon Ki-chang, Andong Mayor, "Helps Regional Balanced Development"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] Andong City announced on the 16th its intention to challenge the designation as an Education Freedom Zone promoted by the Ministry of Education.

Currently, Sejong City and Jeju Province at the metropolitan level, and Chuncheon City in Gangwon Province and Asan City in Chungnam Province at the basic level, are showing interest in the designation of Education Zones. Andong City is the first in Gyeongbuk to declare its challenge.

The Education Freedom Zone is one of the 120 national tasks of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. It is a special zone where regulations such as student selection and curriculum reform are relaxed, and it is scheduled to be piloted from 2024.

The purpose is to open the way for balanced regional development by enabling local cities, which are facing existential crises, to break away from the rigid regulations of the central government and design various education systems tailored to local circumstances.

Andong City successfully hosted the International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) World Congress last year, widely promoting its status as an education city worldwide.

It is also a region with sufficient foundation and potential for educational diversification, promoting the Andong-type job project to cultivate specialized talents in future growth engine industries such as bio, vaccine, and hemp industries.

Kwon Ki-chang, Mayor of Andong.

Andong City expects that if designated as an Education Freedom Zone, local companies or research institutes will be able to establish alternative schools within the zone and receive financial support, thereby creating a virtuous cycle system linking education, employment, and settlement in the region.

Mayor Kwon Ki-chang said, “If Andong City is designated as an Education Freedom Zone, there will be a ripple effect of improving the quality of public education throughout the northern Gyeongbuk area, including Andong, and accordingly, regional balanced development and talent cultivation can be realized simultaneously. We will work closely with Gyeongbuk Province and the Gyeongbuk Office of Education to make every effort to be designated as an Education Freedom Zone to realize a lifelong education welfare city without discrimination and boundaries, which is the administrative policy of Andong City in the 8th term of civilian administration.”

An official from Andong City said, “The Ministry of Education has not yet determined any specific designation procedures, application methods, or operations for the Education Freedom Zone. Amid this, Andong City is the first to throw down the gauntlet for designation and will explore all possible ways to achieve the designation.”