[2025 Budget Plan] Record High... Ministry of Education to Increase National Scholarship by 600 Billion Won

Expansion of Type 1 National Scholarships Increases by 592.9 Billion KRW
Beneficiaries Increase by 500,000... 75% of University Students
48.77 Billion KRW Invested to Improve Medical Education Quality

The Ministry of Education plans to expand the national scholarship program to 9 tiers and inject an additional 600 billion KRW to support young people’s future leaps amid high inflation and high interest rates. This means the number of scholarship beneficiaries will increase by 500,000, with additional benefits for families with multiple children.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Education announced its 2025 budget proposal, totaling 104.8767 trillion KRW, an increase of 9.1 trillion KRW (9.5%) compared to this year’s budget. This is the first time since 2023 (approximately 102 trillion KRW) that the Ministry’s budget has exceeded 100 trillion KRW.

The most notable point is the expansion of the national scholarship. The Type 1 support has been adjusted from the existing 8 tiers to 9 tiers, increasing the related budget by 592.9 billion KRW to 5.3134 trillion KRW. Currently, about 1 million students receive national scholarships, but with the expansion to 9 tiers, the number of beneficiaries will increase to 1.5 million, about 75% of all university students.

University students in the 9th tier will be able to receive up to 1 million KRW annually in national scholarships. To provide stronger support for families with multiple children (3 or more), the first and second children will receive up to 1.35 million KRW annually, and the third child and beyond up to 2 million KRW. However, the budget for Type 2 national scholarships, which are linked to universities’ own efforts, remains at 260 billion KRW, the same as last year. A Ministry of Education official explained, "Although Type 2 national scholarships are frozen compared to the previous year, since Type 1 support has increased significantly, we judged it appropriate to maintain Type 2 as is."

A new "Housing Stability Scholarship" has been established for low-income university students who bear housing costs due to long-distance commuting, with an additional budget of 34.4 billion KRW. It supports up to 200,000 KRW per month for housing expenses, including rental contracts and accommodations such as goshiwon (small dormitory rooms). The work-study scholarship will also expand its support target from 140,000 students this year to 200,000 next year, with the budget increased by 166.7 billion KRW.

To improve educational conditions following the increase in medical school admissions, 487.7 billion KRW will be allocated next year. For national universities, 150.8 billion KRW will be used to expand facilities and equipment, and for private universities, 172.8 billion KRW annually will be provided as low-interest loans at 1.5% to improve educational environments. Additionally, 26 billion KRW has been allocated for personnel expenses to hire additional medical school professors at national universities next year. The Ministry plans to increase personnel expenses over three years until 2027 to secure 1,000 medical school professors.

Furthermore, 55.2 billion KRW has been prepared to support educational innovation at the expanded medical schools, available to both national and private universities. When each university establishes an educational innovation plan, the Ministry of Education will provide customized support accordingly. Also, 82.9 billion KRW will be provided to expand infrastructure such as educational and research spaces at national university hospitals where medical students and residents conduct practical training.

A budget of 2 trillion KRW has been allocated to fully promote the Regional Innovation-Centered University Support System (RISE). The Glocal University 30 Project will also be promoted within the RISE system to encourage innovation competition among universities and strengthen the competitiveness of regional universities.

A budget of 32 billion KRW will be invested in developing the Neulbom School program, part of education reform. Various ministries will collaborate to supply excellent programs utilizing their expertise, and the Ministry of Education has allocated 10.8 billion KRW for "inter-ministerial collaborative" development support to manage quality. Through the RISE system, 21.2 billion KRW will be spent on "regional cooperation-based" program support, where local governments and universities cooperate.

Regarding the integration of childcare services, which will begin as a pilot project in the second half of this year, the detailed funding sources beyond the 5.4 trillion KRW budget transferred from the Ministry of Health and Welfare have not yet been determined. A Ministry of Education official said, "We are considering various funding options such as grants," adding, "Since this is linked to discussions on integration criteria, we expect to explain the total scale and funding utilization by the end of this year."

In this budget proposal, the local education finance grant increased by about 3.4062 trillion KRW to 72.2794 trillion KRW compared to last year. With the transfer of the 5.4 trillion KRW budget for early childhood care projects from the Ministry of Health and Welfare as part of the childcare integration, the budget for early childhood and elementary and secondary education also increased by 7.6517 trillion KRW to 81.3807 trillion KRW.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, stated, "The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the '5·31 Education Reform' that began in 1995, making it an important year to start a new 30 years of education reform," adding, "We will do our best to thoroughly prepare from the second half of this year so that the 2025 budget proposal can serve as a cornerstone for the successful establishment of future education reform over the next 30 years."