Jeong Cheol of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly:
"Restoring Character Education Is the Key Task in the AI Era"
As education rapidly spreads with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital capabilities, concerns have been raised that character education for students is being sidelined.
Jeong Cheol, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member (Democratic Party of Korea, Jangseong 1), criticized during an administrative audit of the Jeonnam Office of Education's Student Education Center on November 5, stating, "The number of student suicide attempts and self-harm cases in the Jeonnam region has more than doubled in recent years," and pointed out, "The balance in education is collapsing."
According to data from the Jeonnam Office of Education, the number of student suicide attempts and self-harm cases increased from 229 in 2021 to 564 in 2024. As of October this year (2025), the figure has already reached 435 cases.
Assemblyman Jeong stated, "The crisis in students' emotional and mental health is a clear indication of the current education system's imbalance," and pointed out, "The Character Education Promotion Act, enacted ten years ago, is virtually not being implemented in the field."
He emphasized, "The most important task in the AI and digital era is the restoration of character education," adding, "Character education is the process of refining one's inner self and developing emotional and social skills, and it is also the core education for preventing crisis behaviors such as self-harm and suicide."
Assemblyman Jeong also suggested, "The type of character education preferred by students is experiential activities," and proposed that "the Student Education Center should newly design and proactively implement experience-based character education programs."
In response, Kim Changgeun, Director of the Student Education Center at the Jeonnam Office of Education, replied, "We will strengthen character education in both the main center and branch programs," and added, "We will strive to help students develop both healthy minds and character."
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