Shared with Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education
Direct Rebuttal to Claims of 130 Billion KRW Cost
Legal Action Considered Against Political Distortion
Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 20th that the budget for establishing the science high school will be shared and promoted by the city and the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Recently, claims have been made in political circles that Seongnam City would fully support the establishment of the science high school, costing 130 billion KRW, but this was directly refuted.
The tentatively named ‘Bundang Jungang Science High School,’ which Seongnam City attracted as a Gyeonggi-type science high school, is not a new establishment but a conversion. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will provide existing school facilities, land, and school operating expenses, while Seongnam City will support the budget for additional facilities, equipment, and other operating costs, planning to reduce project costs through a feasibility study.
Furthermore, the land value of the existing Bundang Jungang High School site is approximately 52.8 billion KRW based on the 2024 official land price.
If a new science high school had been established on similar land like in Icheon City or Siheung City, it would have cost over 50 billion KRW for the land alone, with additional construction costs. However, by utilizing land and buildings owned by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, the budget was saved. Additionally, by using adjacent city-owned land behind the school, about 10.4 billion KRW worth of additional land budget was also saved.
Thus, the total budget supported by Seongnam City for the establishment of the science high school, including school remodeling costs (main building, gymnasium), extension construction costs (exploration building, dormitory), and equipment purchase costs, is approximately 75.5 billion KRW (excluding contingency and operating expenses), which is significantly different from the over 130 billion KRW claimed by former National Assembly member Kim Byung-wook and others.
Meanwhile, the actual construction of the science high school will be promoted by the Seongnam Office of Education, with four institutions?the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, Seongnam City, Seongnam Office of Education, and Bundang Jungang High School?collaborating to accelerate the establishment of a future-oriented science high school.
A Seongnam City official stated, “While some political circles agree on establishing a science high school to nurture national talent in science and engineering, we hope they stop spreading false information that the entire cost is borne by citizens’ taxes, which damages national education and city administration,” adding, “If the dissemination of false information continues, we will consider legal action.”
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