"Creating 10 Seoul National Universities Alone Cannot Solve Education Problems... Follow-up Policies Needed"

Sageokse: "No Education Message from the New Administration...
We Must Start Planning for Policy Season 2 and 3 Now"

There has been a claim that President Lee Jaemyung's campaign pledge to "create 10 Seoul National Universities" alone is insufficient to solve South Korea's chronic education problems. Experts advise that both short-term and mid-to-long-term policies must be implemented in a timely manner for a fundamental solution.

On July 8, the group World Without Worries About Private Education (Sageokse) held a press conference in front of the National Policy Planning Committee and called for the inclusion of the "Five Major Education Policies" as national policy tasks.

The Five Major Education Policies are part of the "Education Policy Agreement" that Sageokse signed with the Democratic Party of Korea during the 21st presidential election. The policies include declaring the resolution of educational inequality as a national vision, and establishing laws and systems to regulate and supervise private education.

Sageokse stated, "Since President Lee's inauguration, there has been a complete lack of messaging on education," and added, "Although the administration has repeatedly emphasized restoring people's livelihoods, balanced national development, reducing inequality, and ensuring safety and peace, there has been no mention of how to pursue education reform, which is the foundation for building such a society."

They further pointed out, "President Lee pledged to address the hierarchy among universities?a major cause of the suffering from entrance exam competition?by creating 10 Seoul National Universities, but this alone cannot solve the hellish problems facing South Korea's education system."

They argued, "Ultimately, to break down the university hierarchy, not only should there be 10 regional flagship national universities, but there must also be a phased creation of 40, or even more than 100, globally competitive universities across the country. If additional phases of the '10 Seoul National Universities' policy are not planned now, the effort to resolve the university hierarchy will be nothing more than a castle built on sand." They added, "We must face the reality of education in South Korea and pursue practical yet fundamental solutions in both the short and mid-to-long term, implementing them in a timely manner to address the root causes of the problems."