The Ministry of Education will conduct a call for applications for the selection of 'Autonomous Public High Schools 2.0' by 2025 from April 1 to June 30. This call aims to discover schools that will operate educational programs linked with local communities for regional-centered public education innovation, and to spread the model of public high schools that embody autonomy and creativity.

In 2024, Yanghyeon High School, Jeonju High School, Jeonju Girls' High School, Jeonju Solnae High School, Jinan Jeil High School, Gunsan Dong High School, Gimje Girls' High School, and Suncheon Jeil High School were designated as autonomous public high schools.

Autonomous Public High Schools 2.0 are a new form of high school that innovates educational programs by utilizing local resources through agreements with local institutions such as local governments, universities, and companies. In the first call last year, a total of 100 schools from 15 regions were selected and are currently in operation, receiving recognition for contributing to enhancing regional educational capabilities by disseminating best practices to regular high schools.

Schools wishing to participate in the call must establish operational plans, including plans for improving educational programs, after signing agreements with local institutions and submit them to the provincial education office. The provincial education office will recommend them to the Ministry of Education by June 30 after internal review. The Ministry of Education plans to select a total of around 20 schools through evaluations in July, including newly applied schools and schools conditionally selected in the 3rd call in 2023.

Once designated as Autonomous Public High Schools 2.0, schools will receive an annual budget of 200 million won for five years (1:1 investment from the Ministry of Education and provincial education office) and will be granted autonomy in educational programs at the level of autonomous high schools and specialized high schools. Various special personnel management measures will be applied, such as implementing a principal recruitment system, allowing up to 100% additional recruitment of teachers, and allowing additional allocation of teachers. In terms of admissions, a separate selection process within 30% of the total capacity is possible according to the criteria set by the Minister of Education.

The Ministry of Education plans to provide expert counseling (consulting) and support for institutional improvements to schools participating in this call to enable them to present innovative models tailored to local educational conditions. In particular, the policy is to actively accommodate demands for regulatory relaxation from the field and support them institutionally.

So Eun-joo, Director of the Responsible Education Policy Office, stated, "The 100 schools selected last year are leading positive changes by operating educational programs that reflect the characteristics of their regions," and expressed, "Through this call, we will further discover schools that will become hubs for regional public education innovation, and the Ministry of Education will actively support them."

The Ministry of Education plans to designate the finally selected schools as Autonomous Public High Schools 2.0 from March 1, 2026, for operation.