Next Year's High School Free Education Budget Cut by 99%... "Yoon Administration Ignores Social Consensus"

Special Provisions for Central Government Financial Burden to Sunset at the End of This Year

As the budget for free high school education next year was cut by 99%, criticism arose mainly from the opposition. They pointed out that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration ignored the social consensus on free education.

On the morning of the 4th, the day of the June mock test for the College Scholastic Ability Test, students at Bangsan High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, are receiving answer sheets. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Kang Kyung-sook, a member of the Joguk Innovation Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 24th, saying, "We condemn the ruthless Yoon administration for cutting 99% of the free high school education budget that has already been established for six years," and asked, "For what reason was it cut, and was there any explanation given to the beneficiaries, the students and parents?" She also criticized, "Why was the social consensus bypassed?" and added, "I want to know the true intention behind stubbornly pushing forward with the Ministry of Education’s poor, hastily prepared, and unilateral projects such as the AI digital textbooks, expected to cost trillions of won, while completely cutting the free high school education budget."

The Democratic Party of Korea also criticized the budget cut for free high school education. Hwang Jeong-ah, the Democratic Party spokesperson, stated in a commentary on the 20th, "The people’s livelihood is worsening under President Yoon’s unrealistic trickle-down effect," and revealed, "The free high school education budget was slashed by 99.4% in one lump." She added, "The Democratic Party will create a livelihood budget to solve the people’s issues of making a living through the National Assembly’s budget review." Lee Eon-ju, a senior member of the Democratic Party, also said at the party’s highest council meeting on the 20th, "We must cut unnecessary budgets by any means and restore the cut free high school education budget."

According to the government’s 2025 budget proposal and fund operation plan project explanation materials, the free high school education budget for next year was set at 5.267 billion won. This is a 99.4% cut compared to this year’s free high school education budget of 943.898 billion won. The special provision regarding the burden of free education expenses for high schools, etc., under the Local Education Finance Grant Act, which requires the central government to bear the funding for free high school education, will expire on December 31 this year and lose its effect from next year.