On December 31st, the amendment to the Local Finance Grant Act, which extends the government's share of the budget for free high school education for three years, passed the National Assembly plenary session.
The special provision, which requires the government and education offices to each bear 47.5% of the costs needed for free high school education and local governments to bear 5%, has been extended for three years until 2027, just before its sunset clause.
In response, on the 2nd, Cheon Chang-su, Superintendent of Ulsan Education Office, delivered a welcoming message and issued a statement.
Superintendent Cheon explained the background of the initial implementation of free high school education, saying, “Free high school education was gradually introduced from 2019 and fully implemented in 2021. It was introduced to ensure equal educational opportunities for everyone up to high school so that income disparities among parents would not lead to disparities in educational opportunities. This is significant as it realizes the constitutional right to basic education that all citizens should enjoy.”
He continued, “At the time of the introduction of free education, South Korea was the only OECD member country that did not implement free high school education. Although the vast majority of the public welcomed the introduction of free high school education, the program faced the risk of suspension last year, just four years after its full implementation. The government did not prepare any measures for the sunset of the special provision and did not allocate a budget for free high school education in this year’s budget. It was hard to believe that this was the government’s response, which claimed to strengthen the national education responsibility system and resolve educational disparities.”
The Ulsan Education Office allocated its own budget for free education this year to fulfill the responsibility of public education without passing the burden onto parents amid difficult economic conditions. This was despite a significant reduction in revenue resources for two consecutive years due to government tax revenue shortfalls and considerable difficulties in managing education finances caused by rising labor costs and inflation.
National policy projects such as Neulbom Classroom, integrated childcare, and the introduction of AI digital textbooks also pressured the instability of local education finances. However, the city education office managed to allocate the free education budget by uniformly reducing general project expenses by 15%, squeezing every possible resource.
Superintendent Cheon said, “I was hoping for the passage of the extension bill for the special provision on free high school education at the end of last year, but I was also anxious that it might fail. I am extremely pleased and warmly welcome the bill’s passage, albeit late, as it allows us to pursue the demands of the education field, which could not be reflected due to financial pressure, through this year’s supplementary budget.” He added, “Although it has not been finalized, the Ministry of Education’s mention of requesting a reconsideration of the bill is very inappropriate. I hope the government fulfills its duty to take responsibility for public education by promptly preparing a supplementary budget. I also urge the government to recognize that the current severe instability of local education finances stems from the government and to prepare fundamental measures to stabilize local education finances in the long term.”
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