Low-Income Students Attending Law School to Receive Full Tuition Support

Support Provided to 901 Students in Basic Livelihood Security and Income Brackets 1 to 3

(Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] A total of 901 low-income students attending law schools (Law Schools) will receive full tuition support.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will provide full tuition support to vulnerable students who are recipients of basic living subsidies and those in income brackets 1 to 3 among current and new law school students.

The Ministry of Education is providing 4.887 billion KRW in national funds, and 25 law schools will support students using both the Ministry's funds and their own resources. The total number of supported students is 901, which is about 15% of the law school enrollment quota (6,000 students). The number of scholarship benefits is limited to six semesters in accordance with the law school curriculum.

Law School Scholarship Application Ranking (Source: Ministry of Education)

Since the 2016 academic year, the Ministry of Education has been providing scholarships to vulnerable law school students to help them focus on their studies without financial burden and to expand opportunities to enter the legal profession. Separately, law schools continue to operate an 'income bracket-linked scholarship system' for other vulnerable students besides basic living subsidy recipients and those in income bracket 3 or below.

Each law school must allocate at least 30% of tuition revenue to scholarships. Of that, more than 70% must be distributed considering income levels. Income brackets are verified only for students applying for scholarships, and more scholarships are awarded in order of lower income brackets.

The Ministry of Education encourages individual law schools to freeze or reduce tuition fees and increase scholarships. The calculation formula for support funds reflects factors such as the proportion of vulnerable group special admissions, tuition levels, and scholarship payment rates, providing more budget to law schools that make efforts to support vulnerable groups.

Seol Sehun, Director of University Academic Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, "We will strive to expand law school scholarship payments to provide opportunities for capable and passionate vulnerable students to become legal professionals without the burden of tuition fees."