Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Jun-ho Jeong (Department of Public Administration, College of Social Science) has been appointed Project Director of the Cultural Impact Assessment implementing institution first designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Accordingly, Professor Jeong will lead efforts to establish and advance the Cultural Impact Assessment system over the next three years.

Under Article 9‑3 of the Framework Act on Culture, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has, for the first time, designated two institutions nationwide, including JBNU Industry-University Cooperation, as Cultural Impact Assessment implementing institutions. This designation is the first case since the institution designation system was introduced through the 2025 amendment to the Framework Act on Culture, and it is significant in that it institutionalizes the expertise and credibility of Cultural Impact Assessments.

The Cultural Impact Assessment is a system that analyzes and evaluates in advance the impacts of policies and projects pursued by central administrative agencies and local governments on people’s quality of life and cultural values. Its purpose is to encourage the formulation of more culture-friendly policies by reflecting various cultural elements in the policy process, such as cultural rights, cultural identity, cultural diversity, community, and creativity.

Professor Jeong will oversee Cultural Impact Assessment implementation through 2028, including the management of evaluation panels, training for policy officials, establishment of a feedback system for evaluation results, and institutional improvements. He plans to strengthen the assessments’ expertise and objectivity through collaboration with experts in cultural policy, regional culture, cultural cities, national heritage, and cultural administration.

He will focus in particular on expanding the role of Cultural Impact Assessment as a policy tool that reflects cultural values at the policy formulation stage, beyond mere ex-post evaluation. To this end, he will promote the construction of an evaluation results database, the identification and dissemination of best practices, expansion of ex-post evaluations, and capacity building for local governments to enhance the system’s effectiveness and sustainability.

Professor Jeong has conducted research in cultural cities, regional cultural policy, cultural governance, and cultural administration, and has accumulated expertise by participating in full, abbreviated, and diagnostic Cultural Impact Assessments. He has continuously conducted research on directions for institutional development, improvements to implementation frameworks, and methods for integrating findings into policy.

Professor Jun-ho Jeong said, "The Cultural Impact Assessment is a core system for spreading cultural values across policy and improving people’s quality of life. As Project Director of the nation’s first implementing institution, I will do my utmost to enhance the system’s expertise and credibility and to ensure that cultural perspectives are reflected across policy."

Meanwhile, JBNU Industry-University Cooperation will use this designation to position itself as a leading specialized organization in the field of Cultural Impact Assessment and will lead the dissemination of the system and its application to policy going forward.