Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education Brings Eight Scattered Student Support Centers Together... Integrated Support Gets Underway in Earnest

[Financial News, Incheon = Han Gab-soo, reporter] The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education is bringing together student support services that had been scattered across areas such as learning, counseling, welfare and special education, and launching integrated support. It aims to build a system in which schools and the local community respond together, taking a comprehensive view of students facing complex difficulties rather than treating their situations as isolated cases.
The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education held an opening ceremony for the Student-Customized Integrated Support Center on the 12th at the new building of Incheon High School.
The center was established under Article 8 of the Student-Customized Integrated Support Act. It oversees and coordinates related policies and handles interagency cooperation and student support. In particular, it is the first center in the country to bring eight existing student support centers together in one location. Staff from the On Ieum Center, Multicultural Education Support Center, Comprehensive Learning Clinic Center, Special Education Support Center, East District Gyeoldaero Career Center, Integrated Wee Center, and Body and Mind Health Coaching Cyber Center work together in a shared office space.
To provide prompt support for students at schools, the metropolitan office is pooling and distributing approximately 7.8 billion won in funding for five programs—including basic academic skills, educational welfare and student counseling—as part of school operating funds. This allows schools to use the funding flexibly to meet each student’s needs. The support system was selected as a best practice nationwide in the Ministry of Education’s 2026 Evaluation of Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education.
Cases that schools have difficulty resolving on their own are supported through “School-Visit Case Conferences,” in which education office staff and experts visit the schools. The office is also providing tailored training for principals, vice principals, administrative office heads and new teachers, while operating 10 Incheon-style model schools called “Donghaeng Schools.”
During periods when support gaps are more likely, such as school vacations and public holidays, the office works with community organizations to maintain a safety net for students. It has also laid the institutional groundwork by enacting and amending relevant ordinances.
Superintendent Do Seong-hun said, “Through the center, we will take a comprehensive look at students’ difficulties and support them as they grow up healthy and safe.”
[email protected] Han Gab-soo Reporter