Minseok Ahn “We will create an ‘AI and semiconductor education mecca’ in southern Gyeonggi Province.”

(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Youngjoo Lee = On his 100th day in office, Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Superintendent Ahn Min-seok announced his vision for creating a 'core mecca for AI and semiconductor education' that unites eight local governments in southern Gyeonggi Province.

They expressed their will to tackle the crisis of a '7 trillion won budget cut' due to the government's reform of education grants by establishing a new fund.

Superintendent Ahn held a press conference on his 100th day in office at the Provincial Office of Education on the 7th and announced the key education policy directions for next year.

The most important task is ‘cultivating AI and semiconductor talent.’

Superintendent Ahn said, “We will create a specialized education belt by combining eight semiconductor cluster cities in southern Gyeonggi Province, including Suwon, Yongin, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek,” and added, “We will receive professional manpower and part of the budget from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to develop it into a mecca for AI and semiconductor education in Korea.”

He went on to explain, “I believe it is possible if eight cities join forces, but it requires considerable thought and effort.”

He expressed strong opposition to the government's move to reform local education financial grants.

Superintendent Ahn drew a line, saying, “It is completely unacceptable to reduce grants to provincial offices of education by about 7 trillion won without using excess tax revenue to invest in education.”

He then emphasized, “We are considering various measures to secure financial resources, such as establishing a ‘Future Response Fund’ in preparation for the worst budget cut situation.”

A solution to the problem of private education costs, which is the biggest concern of parents, was also presented.

Superintendent Ahn said, "If school teachers who are better than academy instructors take the lead, we can control the cost of private education," and announced that he will soon form a 'Private Education Half Price Task Force' and push for a full-fledged policy starting next year.

Educating students to use AI technology properly was presented as the top priority.

Superintendent Ahn said, “What I pursue is human-centered AI education,” and added, “I will redesign the curriculum necessary for the AI ​​era so that students can take the lead and utilize technology properly without becoming slaves to AI.”

To this end, the Provincial Office of Education recently launched the ‘AI Education Committee’ chaired by Yonsei University Professor Kim Hyeon-cheol. The committee discusses curriculum redesign and the establishment of an AI education research institute suitable for the AI ​​era, and is currently pursuing the enactment of an ordinance to establish the research institute.

In addition, we plan to strengthen cooperation by signing a so-called 'wall-breaking agreement' with universities and companies in the province to provide substantial AI education.

Starting next year, the provincial Office of Education will be divided into southern and northern parts to resolve the educational gap between the north and south.

The plan is to reduce the educational gap between regions by having the southern and northern government buildings perform independent functions in the form of twins. The new system is scheduled to go into full operation from January next year, when the selection of the currently vacant first and second deputy superintendents is completed.