Kim Yongtae, Gwangju Superintendent Candidate: "Bridging School and Regional Gaps... Changing Educational Reality"

Announcement of Gwangju Education Policies Supporting Students' Dreams
Office of Education to Take Responsibility for Basic Academic Skills and Provide Tailored Guidance
Plans to Expand Dedicated Teachers and Learning Support Staff
Employment Counselors Assigned to Specialized High Schools and Personalized Roadmap Design

Kim Yongtae, former head of the Gwangju Regional Committee Citizen School at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation

Kim Yongtae, former Director of the Gwangju Regional Committee Citizen School at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, who has announced his candidacy for Gwangju Superintendent of Education, has unveiled education policies for Gwangju that support students' dreams.

On January 13, Kim Yongtae issued a press release stating, "I am determined to change the current educational reality where family circumstances and information gaps determine the future of our children."

He emphasized, "We can no longer allow the vicious cycle in which economic disparities lead to gaps in information about further education and employment, which in turn result in educational inequality and differences in future quality of life. While children's talents may differ, the opportunities for those talents to blossom must never be unequal."

The core of these policies includes: establishing a system in which the Office of Education is responsible for the basic academic abilities of all students; providing tailored support for further education and employment for both general high school and specialized high school students; and ensuring non-discriminatory educational support for students in special education and those outside the school system.

To achieve this, the Office of Education will first clarify that guaranteeing basic academic skills at the elementary level is its top priority, and plans to expand the number of dedicated basic skills teachers and learning support staff to bridge gaps between schools and regions.

Additionally, professional college admissions counselors will be assigned to general high schools to establish a reliable public career and college counseling system for students and parents, independent of private tutoring. The goal is to design and support individualized roadmaps for further education by comprehensively analyzing each student's school record, academic achievement, extracurricular activities, interests, and aptitudes.

For specialized high school students, employment counselors will be appointed to provide systematic support, from identifying excellent job opportunities to designing personalized employment roadmaps. The plan also includes building a sustainable school employment system that is unaffected by teacher transfers.

Furthermore, the proposal includes establishing a Special Education Center to strengthen customized education tailored to each type of disability and developmental stage, as well as early diagnosis and intervention systems. By unifying parent counseling and information services, the aim is to build greater trust in special education.

In addition, Kim Yongtae stated that students outside the school system should be recognized as "students outside school," not "out-of-school youth," and that a dedicated support system within the Office of Education will be established to provide integrated support for learning, counseling, career guidance, and welfare, thereby eliminating discrimination.

Kim Yongtae, prospective candidate, said, "Equal learning is not just an education policy, but a social promise that enables every child to live a life of dignity. I will create an educational system in Gwangju that supports students' dreams not just in words, but through concrete systems and structures."