Seminars

The Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE) held its 2026 New Year Kick-off Ceremony on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in the main conference hall on the 5th floor of the institute. The event was attended by all staff members and included opening remarks, the President’s New Year’s address, introductions of returning researchers from sabbatical and external assignments, and the 2025 awards ceremony.

In her address, KICCE President Ock Kyeung Hwang encouraged staff to “continue striving together for a year of advancement grounded in KICCE’s expertise and public responsibility, and to foster a culture of mutual respect and trust across the organization.”

The ceremony featured the introduction of returning researchers—Dr. Nayoung Kim and Dr. Dong Hoon Kim (from research sabbatical), and Dr. Jiyoun Lee (from external assignment). This was followed by the 2025 awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions both externally and internally.

A total of nine individuals were honored with external awards from organizations including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, and the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC). Twelve individuals received internal awards across various categories, including the Best Research Report Award, Research and Policy Development Award, International Research Achievement Award, Policy Agenda Support Award, National Policy Contribution Award, Project Support Award, External Relations Award, Research Support Award, and Collaborative Excellence Award.

Notably, the Best Research Report Award was presented to two research teams:

“A Study on Future Agendas for Child-Centered AI Technologies” (Choi Yoon Kyung, Lee Jaehee, Park Hayeon, Kim Heesue), and

“2025 Longitudinal Study of Growth and Development of Korean Children: Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC)” (Cho Mira, Choi Hyo Mi, Lee Jiyoun, Kim Hyejin, Kang Min-gwon).

KICCE remains committed to strengthening its research capacity and contributing to evidence-based child and family policy as a leading public research institute in 2026 and beyond.