[New Year's Address] Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs, "This Year, Education Sites Will Undergo Significant Changes... I Will Carefully Oversee Policies"

"Establishing a National Responsibility Education and Care System in 2024"
"Full Implementation of the High School Credit System This Year"
"Great Transformation Using AI Digital Textbooks"

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, expressed his New Year's aspirations, stating, "Based on the solid foundation of education reform built so far, significant changes are scheduled to take place in the education field this year."

At the '2025 Opening Ceremony' held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 2nd, Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "The Ministry of Education designated 2023 as the 'first year of education reform' to prepare for the future society and address the social issues we face, leading changes in education."

He added, "It seems that 2024 will also be a year of intense efforts, just like 2023. To overcome the low birthrate problem facing our country, we have devoted considerable efforts to establishing a national responsibility education and care system with the determination to reduce the caregiving burden on parents."

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He continued, "A major change was made by unifying the support departments for daycare centers and kindergartens under the Ministry of Education to achieve the long-awaited integration of early childhood education and care, which has faced difficulties for the past 30 years. Additionally, the Neulbom School program has started operating in all elementary schools nationwide," adding, "We are also promoting the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks to eliminate educational disparities among students within public education regardless of region or income, and leading changes in teacher-led classroom instruction by conducting large-scale teacher training and improving schools' digital infrastructure."

Furthermore, starting this year, "the 'High School Credit System' will be fully implemented in high schools, and through a digital education revolution utilizing AI digital textbooks, personalized education for each student will be realized in public education, creating classrooms without students who give up on English or math. Also, with the full-scale operation of the RISE system in 17 local governments nationwide, regional changes actively led by local governments and universities will begin," he announced.

Deputy Prime Minister Lee emphasized, "The Ministry of Education will carefully manage key policies this year so that the public can feel positive changes in the education field. We will listen attentively to valuable opinions from the education field and strive to promote policies from the perspective of the people through continuous communication."