Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)-affiliated Institute for Public Conflict and Local Innovation (Director: Professor Ha Dong‑hyun, Department of Public Administration; hereinafter the Institute) was reselected as a conflict management research institution designated by the Office for Government Policy Coordination. It is the first such designation outside the Seoul metropolitan area.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination recently selected five research institutions nationwide through a 'Call for Designation of Conflict Management Research Institutions' based on the 'Regulations on the Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts in Public Institutions.' According to Article 24 of the Regulations, the head of the Office may designate an institution as a 'Conflict Management Research Institution' if it is able to conduct activities such as investigation and research, preparation and distribution of manuals, development and dissemination of training programs, conflict impact analysis, and research on participatory decision‑making methods to prevent and resolve conflicts in public institutions.

Accordingly, during the first designation period (2023–2025) the Institute has served as a regional hub for conflict management research, education, and consulting. During the second designation period (2026–2028), it plans to expand its programs to strengthen field‑centered conflict management implementation capabilities.

Since its selection as a conflict management research institution in 2022, the Institute has focused over the past three years on developing and operating standardized conflict management training programs. It has provided conflict management training to approximately 3,230 public officials from 62 public institutions nationwide, systematically disseminating public conflict management capabilities.

In particular, by reflecting the needs of local governments, local councils, and regional public enterprises and by pursuing practical training with high on‑site applicability, the Institute has accumulated achievements that have substantively enhanced public institutions' ability to prevent and resolve conflicts.

Moreover, in August last year the Institute hosted the Korean Association for Conflict Studies' Summer Conference at JBNU's Humanities and Social Sciences Building, marking the first time the conference was held solely outside the capital area and creating a turning point in extending the capital‑centered conflict discourse to a regional base.

In addition, it participated last year in the Office for Government Policy Coordination's revision project for the 'Conflict Management Manual for Public Institutions (5th edition),' contributing to a shift away from the traditional knowledge‑transfer manuals toward on‑site practical manuals that public officials can use directly in the field.

Building on these results, the Institute has been operating a research group on development of conflict management methodologies with the Korean Association for Conflict Studies since the second half of 2025. Based on this, it plans to publish a book on conflict management methodologies in 2026.

Alongside this, to broaden the base of conflict management and cultivate next‑generation talent, since 2021 the Institute has continuously offered public conflict governance case lectures for university students two to four times per year in cooperation with organizations such as Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Siwaho Sustainable Partnership, and the Korea Center for Social Conflict Resolution.

In particular, in 2025, through a field‑experience 2030 Energy Policy Supporters Program partnered with Korea Electric Power Corporation, JBNU students from the Jeonbuk region directly visited planned transmission and transformation facility sites and carried out field‑based learning to identify strategies and policy ideas for regional development.

From this year, following its reselection, the Institute plans to strengthen its role as an organic link between central and regional levels not only in its existing research, education, and consulting work but also in supporting the Office for Government Policy Coordination's priority initiatives. These include support for projects to establish and operate deliberative public engagement bodies, management of a conflict expert pool, development of practical conflict management training materials, and planning and operation of conflict management workshops.

Director Ha Dong‑hyun said, 'Based on the research and education achievements accumulated during the first designation period as the first conflict management research institution designated by the Office for Government Policy Coordination outside the capital area, we plan during the second designation period to grow into a regional hub research institution that supports policy implementation capacity, including the Office's priority initiatives. We will refine conflict management models that can be applied in the field and a talent development system to further contribute to consensus building in the nation and local communities and to strengthening social capital.'