Kim Seok-jun takes office as Busan's 20th superintendent, vows to complete 'future education'

Kim Seok-jun was inaugurated Tuesday as the 20th superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education at a ceremony in the office's main auditorium. Having won the June 3 local elections, Kim became the first superintendent in the country elected to a fourth term.

The inauguration drew about 500 attendees, including former Busan superintendents Jeong Sun-taek and Seol Dong-geun, People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Seong-guk of Busanjin-gap, and Choi Jae-won, president of Pusan National University.

In his inaugural address, Kim said the honor of becoming "the first four-term superintendent in history" came through the support of citizens and the education community, calling it "an expectation and demand to lead Busan's education without wavering and to properly complete the future of education."

Kim declared that "now is the golden time for Busan education's future transformation" and laid out five pledges: human-centered future education that leads the AI era; personalized education that nurtures both academic achievement and emotional well-being; safe education that protects teachers and students alike; civic education that fosters mutual respect and consideration; and warm, happiness-centered education that cares for students like family.

To deliver on those pledges, his office will deploy personalized AI tutors in every school and establish regional AI and maker education centers to bridge the digital divide. It will also strengthen foundational literacy through dedicated support and close monitoring, and develop tailored academic-improvement programs for sixth-graders, ninth-graders and high school students.

A new complaint-response team will be set up at each district education support office to handle malicious complaints systematically. The office also plans to expand dedicated administrative support teams and introduce AI assistants for school staff to reduce teachers' administrative workload.

Building on the free meals and tuition-free education programs rolled out across kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools during his previous terms, Kim said the office will provide more tailored support for students with special education needs, students with immigrant backgrounds and out-of-school youth. It will also complete a Busan-model integrated childcare and education system, under which the office takes responsibility for everything from childcare to schooling.

"There can be no separate progressive or conservative in education," Kim said, pledging to be "a superintendent for everyone — one who looks only to the future of our children, not to conservative or progressive politics." He added that his office would work closely with the incoming 10th Busan Metropolitan Council, as well as the city government and individual district and county offices, to resolve Busan's pressing education issues.

Earlier Tuesday, before the inauguration ceremony, Kim visited Chungyeolsa Shrine in Dongnae-gu's Allak-dong with senior education office officials. That afternoon, he paid successive visits to Democracy Park and the Chunghoontap memorial tower, both in Jung-gu.