Concerns grow over Gwangju education being absorbed as office gives only vague answers
Kim Jin-nam, a two-term member of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council representing Suncheon and serving on its education committee, urged the integrated education office to state a clear position and present a concrete plan for constructing a new Gwangju campus and strengthening its functions, at a recent business briefing on the Gwangju campus.
Kim's questioning came as the Gwangju campus construction project — which had already cleared the Ministry of Education's central investment review — stalled in reporting its progress amid shifting circumstances, including the superintendent election and the merger of the South Jeolla and Gwangju education offices, leaving the project's future direction uncertain.
"It is necessary to review efficient organizational management and improved working conditions for the integrated education office," Kim said, "but such discussions must not become grounds for further delaying or scaling back the Gwangju campus construction."
He added that if the education office fails to present a clear direction on the Gwangju campus's role and whether to proceed with construction, "the Gwangju education community will have no choice but to worry that the functions and standing of Gwangju education are being diminished after the merger."
Kim also stressed that the expertise and competitiveness Gwangju education has built up are not assets belonging to Gwangju alone, but a valuable strength for the entire South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Office of Education. He said the Gwangju campus must not remain a mere satellite office handling a divided share of administrative work.
He proposed that the campus should take responsibility for education policy in the Gwangju area and serve as a key hub for spreading the strengths Gwangju education has accumulated — including AI and digital education, university admissions support, and gifted education — across the integrated education office.
Kim urged the office again, saying the integration of South Jeolla and Gwangju education "should not proceed by reducing the functions of one side or absorbing it into the other, but by building on the strengths of both regions together." He called on the education office to quickly present a clear direction and timeline for the Gwangju campus construction and functional enhancement to ease the anxieties of the Gwangju education community.
In response, Deputy Superintendent Choi Seung-bok gave a noncommittal answer, saying the office needs to examine whether to organize campus assignments by region or function, and that no policy decision has been reached because the possibility of introducing smart working arrangements — such as flexible or unassigned seating — also needs to be considered.
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