Graduate Student Ki-won Choi of Disaster Management, Dong-A University Graduate School, Awarded Minister of Education Commendation

Contributing to the Training of Rescue Specialists as an Active Coast Guard Officer

Choi Gi-won, a marine police officer pursuing a master's degree in Disaster Management at Dong-A University Graduate School (President Lee Hae-woo), received a commendation from the Minister of Education for his contributions to the revitalization of school sports by the Ministry of Education.

Master's student Choi has dedicated himself to training specialized rescue personnel for the Central Marine Special Rescue Unit of the Korea Coast Guard, the Korea Coast Guard Education Center, and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, including marine police rescue teams and Marine Corps special reconnaissance units.

He has also provided training aimed at improving survival swimming and maritime survival skills to organizations such as the Presidential Security Service, Ministry of Education, National Institute of Fisheries Science, and Jeonnam Fire Headquarters.

Choi Gi-won, a master's student in the Department of Disaster Management at Dong-A University Graduate School (right).

He participated as a review committee member in the revision of the Ministry of Education's survival skills-focused swimming education manual (published in 2023). Additionally, he served as an instructor in the survival swimming job training course for elementary school teachers conducted by the Korea Coast Guard Education Center from 2022 to 2023, contributing to the enhancement of practical survival swimming skills in maritime disaster situations for 392 elementary school teachers.

Since 2017, all elementary school students are required to receive 10 hours of mandatory survival swimming education annually for every grade, and elementary school teachers who complete this job training course serve as survival swimming instructors at elementary schools.

Master's student Choi said, “I am very honored to receive the ministerial commendation,” adding, “I will work hard to grow as an expert in the marine rescue field by building on the knowledge I have gained in the Disaster Management program and my experience responding to maritime disaster incidents.”