Gyeongbuk Office of Education Sets Upper Price Limits for Middle and High School Uniforms... Winter Uniform 239,000 KRW, Summer Uniform 96,000 KRW

The maximum limit for school uniform costs for middle and high school students in the Gyeongbuk region has been set.

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education announced on the 13th that the recommended upper limit price for school uniforms for the 2023 academic year, under the school-led uniform purchase system, has been set at 239,181 KRW for winter uniforms and 96,660 KRW for summer uniforms, and this has been communicated to all middle and high schools in the Gyeongbuk area.

'School-led uniform purchase' refers to a system where schools jointly purchase uniforms through a competitive bidding process.

This system was introduced as a measure to reduce educational expenses announced by the Ministry of Education in 2013 and has been mandatory in all national and public middle and high schools since 2015.

An official from the Gyeongbuk Office of Education stated, "When individual middle and high schools conduct bidding for uniforms at the school level, they were instructed to set prices below the recommended price. It is understood that most local governments in the region provide 300,000 KRW per student for uniform purchase."

Gyeongbuk Office of Education

This year's recommended upper limit for uniforms was determined by comprehensively considering last year's consumer price inflation rate and this year's projected inflation rate. Each school will set a base price considering the Gyeongbuk Office of Education's recommended price and regional conditions, and proceed with school-led uniform purchase-related tasks.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of Education for Gyeongbuk, said, "We hope that the uniform prices will stabilize through an appropriate upper limit," and added, "Our Office of Education will continue to explore various measures to reduce the financial burden of educational expenses on parents."