The Ministry of Education (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Jooho) and the Korea Student Aid Foundation (Chairman Bae Byungil) will begin accepting applications for student loans for the second semester of the 2024 academic year starting from the 3rd.
Students can apply for student loans using their own electronic signature through the Korea Student Aid Foundation website or mobile app. Applications for tuition loans are open until October 24, and applications for living expense loans are open until November 14.
Students who need student loans should apply at least eight weeks before their university's registration deadline, taking into account the assessment and notification period for student aid eligibility (about eight weeks), to ensure stable loan approval.
The interest rate for student loans in the second semester of the 2024 academic year will be frozen at 1.7% to alleviate the financial burden on students and reduce the repayment pressure on young people. By maintaining the low interest rate policy of 1.7% for four consecutive years, students and parents can utilize student loans at about half the bond interest rate required for loan funding, significantly reducing repayment burdens.
From the second semester of the 2024 academic year, the scope of support and interest exemption for the Income-Contingent Loan (ICL), which allows repayment deferral until the borrower earns a certain income, has been greatly expanded to further reduce repayment burdens. In addition, support systems have been strengthened so that economically vulnerable groups, such as long-term delinquent borrowers, can make repayment plans suited to their circumstances and maintain stable social lives.
Bae Byungil, Chairman of the Korea Student Aid Foundation, stated, "To reduce the repayment burden on young people, we have significantly expanded the scope of interest exemption for income-contingent student loans, and for the first time, extended support for income-contingent student loans (tuition) to undergraduate students in the ninth income bracket. We have also frozen the loan interest rate at a low 1.7% for the fourth consecutive year." He added, "We will continue to actively cooperate with relevant ministries to make necessary improvements to the loan system, such as expanding the scope of interest exemption and support for income-contingent student loans."
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