SEOUL– President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Thursday to focus on education reforms to ensure the country’s sustainability in an age of rapid technological advancements.
Yoon attended the opening of a two-day job fair tailored for high school graduates in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, which was expected to draw some 180 companies and organizations and more than 15,000 students from vocational high schools.
In congratulatory remarks, Yoon said the country faces a “new era of technological revolution” that makes innovation in science and technology a necessity, not an option.
“Achieving this hinges on the power of our education,” he said. “The new government will ensure creative education based on problem-solving and not on acquiring knowledge, through innovations in the educational system, and use the nurturing of talent as a foundation for innovation and growth.”
Yoon said the government will reinforce educational programs to cultivate students’ skills and talents, and develop a tailored work force for the semiconductor, artificial intelligence and other advanced industries.
“We will channel our efforts for educational innovation so that creative education can fully take shape in our public education,” he said. “It’s certainly not an easy path, but we will prepare educational reforms so that the sustainability of our society will not come under threat.”
It was not the first time Yoon had mentioned education reforms in the context of the country’s future.
During a speech to parliament last month, Yoon listed reforms in the pension system, labor and education as priorities that needed to be tackled immediately to ensure the country’s sustainability.
Yoon urged businesses at the fair to invest in future talent, saying the government will do its part by offering educational and vocational opportunities to students and carrying out institutional reforms to establish a fairer workplace.
Source: Yonhap News Agency