'Conservative Education Superintendent' Kang Eun-hee Elected as the 10th President of the Council of Provincial Education Superintendents

Kang Eun-hee "We Will Realize a Role as a Mature Axis of Local Autonomy Beyond a Simple Council"
Council "Opposes Abolition of School Site Charges"

Daegu Superintendent of Education Kang Eun-hee has been elected as the new president of the National Council of Superintendents of Education.

The National Council of Superintendents of Education held its 97th general meeting on the 28th at Sono Calm in Yeosu City and announced that Superintendent Kang was elected as the 10th president of the council. The election was conducted by secret ballot.

With the election of conservative-leaning Superintendent Kang, the voices of conservative superintendents are expected to gain strength in the council, where progressives and conservatives have been evenly matched. Superintendent Kang stated, "I will strive to ensure that the National Council of Superintendents of Education fulfills its role as a mature pillar of local educational autonomy in Korea, beyond being a mere consultative body."

Before Superintendent Kang, Cho Hee-yeon, considered a progressive superintendent and the Seoul Superintendent of Education, served as the 9th president of the council, expressing progressive positions on various educational issues. The president of the council serves ex officio on bodies such as the National Education Commission and the University Admission Committee of the Korea Council for University Education.

Born in 1964, Superintendent Kang graduated from Kyungpook National University and started as a regular teacher. After serving as CEO of an IT company, a member of the 19th National Assembly, and Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Kang has been serving as Daegu Superintendent of Education since 2022. Kang’s term as president of the National Council of Superintendents of Education will begin on July 1 and last for two years.

At the council’s general meeting, members opposed the government’s plan to abolish the school site contribution fee starting next year and agreed that legal measures should be taken to supplement it. The school site contribution fee is an expense collected by local government heads for securing school sites or expanding nearby schools under the Special Act on Securing School Sites (School Site Act) related to development projects. Additionally, superintendents expressed concerns about the government’s consideration of assigning fixed-term educational researchers to the Neulbom Support Office, which supports Neulbom Schools.

The council stated, "There could be confusion in the teacher personnel system and increased administrative burdens," and added, "Each education office will discuss ways to improve the operation of Neulbom Schools and convey them to the Ministry of Education." The next general meeting is scheduled to be held on July 18 in Ulsan, hosted by the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education.