2026 Special Education Policy: 6 Key Initiatives for Inclusive Learning in South Korea

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Yoo Eun-hye, a candidate for Gyeonggi Province education superintendent, held a press briefing at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on the 25th and outlined a special education agenda centered on inclusive education — an approach that goes beyond placement to take responsibility for students’ whole lives.

Yoo noted that the first bill she sponsored in the National Assembly amended the Special Education Act. “Education begins with safety,” she said. “A school that cannot protect children cannot claim to educate them.”

She added that special education should not be limited to protection; it must help students develop the skills to live independently.

Yoo framed the development of special education in three stages: guaranteeing access (stage 1), delivering high-quality instruction (stage 2), and providing inclusive education that ensures learning success (stage 3). She stressed the need to transform the system beyond mere physical integration.

Although placement of students with disabilities in regular schools in Gyeonggi has risen to 74.1 percent, Yoo warned that physical inclusion alone is insufficient. She called for early identification, tailored instruction, and a concrete system to secure learning rights for students, including those with borderline intellectual functioning.

She also presented six core pledges to strengthen special education.

First, to ensure students can attend school close to home, Yoo pledged to expand construction of special schools and to open new campuses in Suwon Saebit, Yeoju, Siheung, Goyang Changneung, Namyangju Wangsuk, and Pocheon on schedule by 2028. Yangju and Bucheon are slated for openings in 2029 and 2030, respectively. New schools in Hwaseong Dongtan, Goyang, and Pyeongtaek will be prioritized for review.

To address the limits of large special-school campuses, she proposed introducing co-located special schools that operate within general schools under the leadership of a special-education vice principal. She also pledged to expand full-day, integrated special classes focused on culture, the arts, sports, and vocational training.

Measures to improve the quality of inclusive education were also included.

“Inclusion without support is abandonment,” Yoo said, pledging to institutionalize collaborative teaching models with special-education and general teachers co-teaching, and to strengthen professional consulting for teachers in inclusive classrooms.

She also plans to introduce an inclusive-education quality index to increase school-level accountability.

Yoo called for a complete overhaul of teacher-assignment standards.

She proposed reducing class sizes in special classes to approximately three students in kindergarten, four students in elementary and middle school, and four to five students in high school. She also intends to raise the standards for allocating special-education teachers to create a denser instructional environment.

To support independence and employment for students with disabilities, Yoo will establish the Gyeonggi Center for Supporting the Independence of Students with Disabilities and build a four-stage vocational education pathway covering job discovery, vocational training, employment, and aftercare.

She also said she would expand direct and indirect employment through the education office, broaden academic majors, and strengthen links with universities and industry to create practical routes into society.

Finally, Yoo pledged to establish an Education Adjustment Committee and a dedicated conflict-response unit to protect students’ rights. She also proposed governance mechanisms that include parental participation in policymaking as part of an integrated safety net.

Yoo emphasized that special education should prepare students to enter society, not merely shelter them. She said she would support both students who need medical treatment and those who can participate in inclusive settings so each can grow at their own pace and in their own way.

She added that the ultimate goal of education is to foster self-respect so young people can manage their own lives. Yoo said she would eliminate educational blind spots and build a Gyeonggi education system that fully guarantees every child’s right to learn.

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