The Ministry of Education (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho) and the Korea Student Aid Foundation (Chairman Bae Byung-il) will begin accepting applications for student loans for the first semester of the 2024 academic year starting from the 3rd.
Applications for student loans can be made using the student's own electronic signature method through the Korea Student Aid Foundation website or mobile application, with tuition loans available for application until April 25 and living expense loans until May 16.
Despite the increase in average loan interest rates at commercial banks and the base interest rate, the student loan interest rate for the first semester of the 2024 academic year will be frozen at 1.7% for the seventh consecutive semester, in line with the government's policy prioritizing youth and livelihood stability.
Maintaining the low-interest policy for student loans allows students and parents to use student loans at an interest rate 1.80 percentage points lower than the base rate of 3.50% (as of November 2023, Bank of Korea) and 3.27 percentage points lower than the average household loan interest rate of 4.97% at commercial banks, significantly reducing repayment burdens.
Bae Byung-il, Chairman of the Korea Student Aid Foundation, stated, “Despite the challenging domestic and international economic environment, we have frozen the student loan interest rate at 1.7% for seven consecutive semesters to uphold the foundation’s purpose and reduce the burden on students and parents. Moving forward, we will proactively implement institutional improvements in response to the changing educational environment, such as supporting new multi-semester programs and expanding living expense loans, to operate a student loan system that can greatly assist students.”
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