Ministry of Education to Focus Support on Flagship National Universities and Expand Free Early Childhood Education to Age 3

August 5, Second Half Work Briefing
Three National University Brand Colleges to Be Selected This Year
Expanded Regional University and National Scholarship Support
Free Education for Ages 3-5, Enhanced Elementary School Care

The Ministry of Education will focus its policy capabilities in the second half of this year on nurturing local talent and narrowing educational disparities. The initiative, dubbed the "Creating 10 Seoul National Universities" project, will see the selection of three flagship national university brand colleges, connected to local growth industries, within the year. The ministry will also introduce a regional balance scholarship for students entering local universities and expand the provision of national scholarships for students at regional national universities. Free education and childcare support for young children will be expanded to cover ages 3 to 5 starting from 2027.

On August 5, the Ministry of Education announced at a work briefing held at the Blue House State Guest House that it will rigorously pursue its “Ten Key Tasks in Five Core Areas” for the second half of 2026.

The five core areas are: ▲Co-prosperity between local regions and youth ▲A powerhouse for future talent ▲Education without disparity ▲Protection of legitimate educational activities and fair evaluation management ▲Becoming a global talent powerhouse through the expansion of K-education.

Yonhap News Agency

First, the Ministry will strengthen local talent development systems focusing on the "Five Regional Hubs and Three Special Zones" strategy. Three flagship national university brand colleges, aligned with regional growth engines, will be selected within the second half of this year, and convergence research institutes, where companies and universities jointly develop cutting-edge technologies, will be actively fostered. The brand college program aims to combine the strengths of key regional industries and universities to nurture colleges that can offer competitiveness on par with top Seoul universities in specific fields. This is part of the government's efforts to realize the vision of "Creating 10 Seoul National Universities."

The ministry will also establish new systems, including a "Regional Agreement Quota System" and a "Fast-Track Talent Development System," to enable universities to promptly respond to workforce needs of companies relocating to these regions. In addition, it will introduce "Qualification-Specialized Vocational High Schools" where students can obtain higher national technical certificates such as industrial engineer or engineer, and foster AI and semiconductor-focused Meister high schools and vocational high schools, collaborating with businesses to produce job-ready technical professionals.

Support for students entering local universities will also be expanded. The ministry is reviewing the introduction of a "Regional Balance Scholarship" for local university students and will significantly increase national scholarships for students attending regional national universities. The Regional Talent Scholarship program will also be revised to strengthen support for outstanding students entering private universities in non-metropolitan areas.

Work-study contract departments, which guarantee employment through agreements between universities and companies, will be expanded mainly among local universities. Support will be provided so that more students at regional universities can benefit compared to those in the metropolitan area, and management of regional talent recruitment at non-capital area public institutions will be enhanced.

Funds secured through the restructuring of the local education finance grant will be invested throughout the entire educational lifecycle, from infants to high school and lifelong education. In particular, the government will establish innovation plans in higher and lifelong education to ensure universities can reinforce their core functions, such as education and research. A new National Talent Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, will also be established.

The ministry will also promote the “AI Transformation of Educational Institutions," which will broadly apply artificial intelligence across classes, administration, and research in elementary and secondary schools as well as universities. In elementary and secondary education, national-level learning information will be provided and utilized through AI teaching and learning platforms operated by individual provincial and metropolitan education offices.

The nurturing of talent in STEM and advanced fields will also be reinforced. "AI Advanced Research Groups" will be established at all 20 science high schools and eight gifted high schools nationwide. The integrated bachelor's-master's-doctoral programs introduced through amendments to the Higher Education Act in March will be further expanded via AI flagship universities, and vocational colleges specializing in the AID transition will be steadily promoted to foster professional technical talent.

Free education and childcare support for young children will expand to cover all children aged 3 to 5 starting in 2027. The public childcare utilization rate will rise from 45.8% in 2025 to more than 55% in 2030, and the improvement of the teacher-to-child ratio currently applied to zero-year-old infant classes will be expanded to two-year-old infant classes by 2028. Furthermore, education and childcare duties, currently split between regional education offices and local governments, will be reorganized around the education offices to reduce disparities between kindergartens and daycare centers.

The "All Neighborhood After-School Care and Education" policy, which supports elementary school students, will also continue. The number of students participating in school care and education programs during school vacations will increase from 970,000 this summer to more than 1 million next year. The 500,000 won annual after-school program voucher provided to third graders this year will be expanded to cover both third and fourth graders starting next year.

Furthermore, "literacy, AI literacy and utilization, democratic citizenship, and social-emotional competence" will be designated as basic competencies for the AI era, with a focus on strengthening national education in these areas. Beginning in 2027, the reading and writing sections of the basic academic achievement diagnostic tests will be expanded to focus on literacy, and third and fourth graders in elementary school, first-year middle school students, and first-year high school students will be designated as "focus reading years" for targeted support. The number of specialized teachers for core academic achievement will be increased to 6,000 by 2030, and the number of classes supported for collaborative teaching will expand from 32,094 in the first half of this year to 51,000 next year. The number of AI-focused and leading schools will increase from 3,307 this year to 4,000 next year.

Support for student mental health will also be significantly enhanced. A safety net will be built for all stages, from prevention to detection, intervention, and recovery, with systems in place for early identification and immediate intervention for students at high risk. The mental health support budget for students, currently around 0.25% of the local education finance grant, will be increased to 1% by 2030. By the same year, the goal is to place professional counseling personnel in all elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide.

Written and essay-style assessments will gradually be expanded, and an AI-based internal assessment support system will be introduced by 2029. The internal assessment management system linking schools, local education offices, and the national level will be improved, and a national certification system for evaluation professionals will also be underway.

Education Minister Choi Kyojin stated, “Ensuring that every citizen can dream of their future is the basic role of education,” adding, “We will do our utmost to realize a foundational society through education and to become a nation with irreplaceable talent.”

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