Median Income in July Raised from 50% to 60% or Below... Targeting up to 85%
From Veterans and North Korean Defector Children to Young Family Caregivers
Seoul City "Expanding Education Welfare through Broader Consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare"
Starting from July, over 20,000 children and adolescents in Seoul will be able to take additional lectures from Mayor Oh Se-hoon's education ladder program, 'Seoul Learn.' The plan is to reduce educational disparities and increase educational opportunities by relaxing income criteria and expanding the target to include national veterans and children of North Korean defectors.
On the 30th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that from next month, the income criteria for joining Seoul Learn will be relaxed from the previous 50% or less of the median income to 60% or less, and the target will be expanded to include national veterans and children of North Korean defectors. The actual number of beneficiaries will increase from 100,000 to 120,000.
Seoul Learn is one of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's 'Walking with the Vulnerable' policies launched in August 2021. It is Seoul's representative educational welfare project that provides online educational content and one-on-one mentoring services to vulnerable groups who find it difficult to receive private education due to socioeconomic reasons, thereby reducing private education expenses and alleviating educational disparities. Especially from this year, an artificial intelligence (AI) learning diagnosis program has been introduced to support self-directed learning, and through 'experiential mentoring,' 'special emotional support mentors,' and '4050 senior mentors,' it also helps with character development and study habits.
Analysis of the operational results over the past two years showed that 42.1% of households reduced their private education expenses, with an average monthly reduction of 256,000 KRW per household. In the 2024 academic year college entrance exam results, 682 members were admitted to universities, an increase of 220 compared to the previous year, and 45 members succeeded in employment without entering university, 29 more than last year.
Accordingly, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has set a long-term goal to expand the income criteria for Seoul Learn support to 85% or less and plans to gradually increase the number of beneficiaries. Starting next month, for example, a four-person household with a monthly recognized income of up to 3.44 million KRW, up from the previous 2.86 million KRW, will be eligible for Seoul Learn benefits.
Additionally, starting with national veterans and children of North Korean defectors, by October, young caregivers, health-disabled students using the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Kkulmat Mujigae Classroom, children protected in domestic violence prevention and victim protection facilities, and children admitted to out-of-area child protection facilities will also be able to take Seoul Learn courses. To this end, consultations are currently underway with the Ministry of Health and Welfare regarding changes to social security systems under the Framework Act on Social Security, and the amendment process is in progress to establish support grounds in the 'Ordinance on the Operation of Online Lifelong Education in Seoul.'
Gu Jong-won, Director of Lifelong Education at Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "Relaxing the income criteria and expanding the support targets for Seoul Learn means providing education to more children and adolescents in Seoul, giving them opportunities to pursue their dreams," adding, "We will continue to spare no support so that Seoul Learn can serve as a strong educational ladder for Seoul citizens."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
