Benefits Expanded to Children and Adolescents from Large Families
Eligible from the Second Child in Elementary, Middle, and High School with Household Income at or Below 100% of the Median
Business Agreement Signed with Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation
Going forward, children and adolescents from large families will also be eligible for free access to "Seoul Run," Seoul City's flagship educational platform. This initiative is expected to help alleviate the private education expenses for large families and improve the child-rearing environment, thereby contributing to addressing the low birthrate issue.
On May 20, Seoul City announced that starting in the second half of this year, it will launch a pilot program to provide Seoul Run to the second and subsequent children in elementary, middle, and high school from large families with three or more children, whose household income is at or below 100% of the median income among Seoul citizens.
On the 20th, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon and Hwang Youngki, Chairman of the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation, signed the "Seoul City-Green Umbrella Seoul Run Business Agreement to Bridge the Education Gap" at Seoul City Hall. Seoul City
"Seoul Run" is Seoul City's flagship inclusive policy that provides fair educational opportunities to vulnerable groups aged 6 to 24 who have difficulty accessing private education due to social or economic reasons. It offers free online lectures and one-on-one mentoring. Since its launch in 2021, when it started with about 9,000 members, the number of beneficiaries has grown to approximately 34,000 who are currently receiving benefits from Seoul Run.
Tangible results have also been observed. A survey on the reduction rate of private education expenses among households benefiting from Seoul Run over the past two years showed that the proportion of "households with reduced private education spending" increased from 42.1% in 2023 to 52.4% in 2024. In addition, the "average monthly reduction in private education expenses per household" rose from 256,000 won in 2023 to 347,000 won in 2024, an increase of 91,000 won.
To expand the pilot program for large families, Seoul City signed a "Business Agreement to Bridge the Education Gap" with the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation at Seoul City Hall on this day. The two parties agreed to cooperate on the following: operating the Seoul Run pilot program for large families, collaborating with Green Umbrella’s nationwide branches to expand Seoul Run nationwide, and providing financial support for the Seoul Run project.
They also plan to work together to promote the nationwide expansion of Seoul Run by linking with Green Umbrella’s 12 regional headquarters and 63 branches across the country. At the signing ceremony, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon stated, "A child’s future should not be determined by their environment, and at the very least, everyone should start on an equal footing in education. This is the mission of Seoul Run." He added, "We will do our utmost to ensure that Seoul Run becomes a platform of hope and a ladder of opportunity to reduce inequality of opportunity."
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