Ministry of Education Promotes Sejong City to Leading Area in Educational Development Special Zone

Up to 500 Million Won in Additional Special Grants Secured
Strengthening the Foundation for Becoming a Future-Oriented Educational City

Sejong City has been promoted from a managed area to a leading area within the Educational Development Special Zone. This is expected to further accelerate its progress toward becoming a future-oriented educational city.

According to Sejong City on October 15, the Ministry of Education announced that, as a result of the performance management of the "2024 Educational Development Special Zone Pilot Area Operation," Sejong City has been promoted to a leading area and will receive up to an additional 500 million won in special grants.

The Educational Development Special Zone is a system in which the city and the city’s Office of Education collaborate with local institutions such as universities and industries to autonomously develop region-specific educational advancement strategies and nurture and support local talent. The Ministry of Education classifies the special zones into leading areas and managed areas, and for managed areas, the results of annual performance management determine whether they are promoted to leading areas, remain as managed areas, or are eliminated from the program.

Following last year’s securing of 70 million won in national funding, the city and the city’s Office of Education will invest 3 billion won in national funding this year, along with up to an additional 500 million won in special grants secured through the promotion to a leading area, to take the lead in future education.

In particular, with the promotion to a leading area within the Educational Development Special Zone, the uncertainty regarding the maintenance of the zone designation based on annual performance management results has been resolved, and stable project implementation has become possible by securing government funding. Previously, since being designated as an Educational Development Special Zone in July 2024, the city and the city’s Office of Education have been jointly developing and implementing educational advancement strategies under the shared vision of making Sejong a future educational city open to the world.

The nine key initiatives include establishing the Neulbom system, in which the entire community participates; operating model schools to prepare for future education; and creating an ecosystem for nurturing local, settlement-oriented talent.

The two organizations also plan to connect with the Opportunity Development Special Zone to establish a system for nurturing professionals needed in future strategic industries such as companies relocating from the Seoul metropolitan area, cybersecurity, future mobility, quantum technology, and accelerators, thereby creating complementary effects.

Lee Seungwon, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, stated, "The promotion to a leading area within the Educational Development Special Zone signifies that Sejong City has taken another step forward as a city where education and the local community grow together. We will continue to create conditions for local talent to settle and grow in the region, thereby alleviating youth outflow and low birth rates, and do our utmost to ensure that Sejong City’s Educational Development Special Zone becomes a model case for South Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.