Ulsan superintendent-elect's transition committee begins formal policy review

The transition committee for the 11th superintendent of Ulsan Metropolitan City's Office of Education will hold a series of briefings at the Ulsan Education Research and Information Institute from Monday through Wednesday, conducting a comprehensive review of the city's major education policies and current issues while setting the policy direction tied to the superintendent-elect's campaign pledges.

The briefings are organized by department: Monday covers the Administrative Bureau along with the Gangbuk and Gangnam district education support offices; Tuesday covers division- and bureau-level departments and the Education Bureau; and Wednesday covers affiliated institutions, including the Ulsan Education Research and Information Institute, the Ulsan Education Training Institute, the Student Education Institute and the Early Childhood Education Promotion Institute.

Through the briefings, the transition committee plans to examine the current state of policy implementation across Ulsan's education system — covering student growth support, basic academic achievement, education welfare, school safety, future education and improvements to the learning environment — and to consolidate field-level opinions and key issues into an initial set of policy tasks for the incoming superintendent.

Specifically, the committee will develop implementation plans for 115 campaign pledges organized around four policy directions: future-oriented responsible growth education, student-centered personalized education, building human rights-friendly schools for the whole community, and field-centered empathetic education administration.

To that end, the committee will operate four corresponding subcommittees — one each for future-oriented growth education, student-centered personalized education, human rights-friendly school development, and field-centered empathetic education administration. A separate "public engagement subcommittee" will also be established to gather policy proposals from citizens and handle field-level complaints.

"These briefings are a critical process for diagnosing the present state of Ulsan's education and designing its future," committee chair Kim Gu-han said. "We will do our utmost to listen fully to voices from the field and ensure that campaign pledges translate into tangible results."

Meanwhile, the transition committee launched on June 11 as a "practical future-planning committee" comprising 12 members with experience and expertise in education.

Kim Gu-han, director of the Korea Maritime Culture Research Institute and a member of the Ulsan Historical Compilation Committee, serves as chair, while Lee Hyeon-suk, chairperson of the Ulsan Environmental Movement Alliance, serves as vice chair. The 10 committee members are Park Yeong-cheol, representative of the Ulsan Education Solidarity for Realizing Public Education; Lee Hae-gyeong, former chair of the Ulsan Parents Association for the Disabled; Jeong U-jin, CEO of Neopix AI; Kim Mi-yeong, representative of Ulsan Women's Hotline; Im Seol-hui, representative of the Seronaum Parents Network; Jeong Gye-hyang, professor at the University of Ulsan; Han Sae-rom, chair of the Baengnyeonsup Cooperative; Jo Seong-min, principal of Jungang Elementary School; Hwang Ae-jeong, policy director of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union Ulsan chapter; and Min Jae-sik, director of external affairs at the Ulsan Teachers' Union.