Kim Daesik, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee (People Power Party, Sasang District, Busan), has officially proposed a bill to secure the legal status of remote university education.
On the morning of the 7th, Representative Kim announced at the National Assembly Communication Center that he had introduced the "Korea Remote University Education Council Act" to strengthen the autonomy and public nature of remote universities and to ensure that cyber universities, in the era of AI transformation, can proactively lead the future of remote education in Korea by securing their legal status.
This bill aims to elevate the Korea Remote University Council, currently operated as a corporate association under civil law, to a school council based on Article 10 of the Higher Education Act, thereby strengthening its autonomy and public nature. The intent is to enable mutual growth and development by harmonizing and balancing the unique identity and characteristics of remote education with those of general universities.
Kim Daesik, a member of the National Assembly Education Committee (People Power Party, Sasang District, Busan), is the chief sponsor of a bill to secure the legal status of remote university education.
Kim's office expressed concerns about the background of the bill, stating, "Cyber universities, which have provided higher education opportunities to marginalized groups for over 20 years and have accumulated advanced know-how and excellent content, are facing national losses as they are excluded from legal, policy, administrative, and financial support from the Ministry of Education and other government authorities due to discrimination."
Based on this, the aim is to grant legal status to the Korea Remote University Council so that it can proactively lead remote education in Korea, and to establish a mechanism that will enable it to function as a highly competitive global remote education model with high added value, in line with the Korean Wave.
General universities enacted the "Korea University Education Council Act" in 1984, and specialized universities enacted the "Korea College Education Council Act" in 1995, thereby receiving legal, policy, administrative, and financial support from the Ministry of Education and other policy authorities. In contrast, cyber universities have not been granted legal status and therefore receive no such support.
Recently, leading universities around the world have been strengthening the establishment of remote universities, convinced that remote education will become a major foundation for future education in the era of digital AI transformation.
In this context, Korean cyber universities, established on a digital foundation since 2001, have accumulated advanced know-how and excellent content, making them the most suitable and competitive global models, especially amid the Korean Wave.
According to the proposed bill, the Korea Remote University Council will be established to promote cooperation among remote universities and improve the quality of education. The council's main functions will include research and development and dissemination of educational systems and operations, student selection systems, curricula and teaching methods, competitiveness enhancement, and research and development on lifelong higher education and digital education for the public. In addition, the state may subsidize the council's operating expenses within the budget to support its stable operation.
Kim Daesik stated, "Through this bill, K-cyber universities are expected to become global education models with high added value in the era of digital AI transformation," adding, "We anticipate that they will become a key mechanism for expanding cultural territory and will be most suitable for the Korean Wave."
Cyber universities began with 6,220 students at nine institutions in 2001, and by 2023, have expanded to 22 institutions with 130,813 students, representing a 2.4-fold increase in the number of universities and a more than 21-fold increase in student enrollment. The cumulative number of graduates to date is approximately 450,000.
Cyber universities offer not only theoretical education but also field-oriented curricula and high-quality customized educational services, demonstrating the steady increase in public interest and demand.
Kim's office explained that recently, the number of students from various educationally marginalized groups?such as those with at least an associate degree (46.2%), returning students, retrained individuals, re-employed workers, those who work before further study, those combining work and study, and lifelong higher education seekers?has been increasing at remote universities, positioning them as a significant alternative to the limitations of general universities.
Kim Daesik stated, "If this bill passes the plenary session, the educational services of cyber universities will be greatly enhanced, and it will become a new turning point that will change the future of remote university education."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
