The number of counseling sessions provided through the 'The-K Mind Rest' program, a psychological counseling service for school staff, has been increasing every year. However, the related budget has decreased by approximately 280 million won.
According to data received by Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, from the Ministry of Education on October 8, the number of individual counseling sessions under the 'The-K Mind Rest' program reached 23,886 last year, representing a 12.4% increase compared to 2023 (21,245 sessions). The 'The-K Mind Rest' program has been providing therapeutic psychological counseling to school staff since 2019.
The number of individual counseling sessions has shown a consistent upward trend: 5,640 in 2019, 10,417 in 2020, 13,489 in 2021, 13,640 in 2022, 21,245 in 2023, and 23,886 in 2024. However, while the budget was 1.2 billion won in 2019, it only increased to 1.6 billion won last year, despite the number of sessions quadrupling. This year’s budget has been reduced to 1.312 billion won, down from last year.
Although the number of counseling sessions is rising, as of last year, there were 1,068 counseling centers and 2,280 counselors, with each counselor responsible for 262 teachers on average.
The company contracted to run the 'The-K Mind Rest' program was replaced every year until 2023, and it was found that the contractor changed again last year. The Ministry of Education stated that, due to the frequent changes in contractors, it is unable to track the status of counseling centers and personnel prior to 2023.
Assemblywoman Jin stated, "In order to handle the increased number of completed counseling sessions, it is necessary to increase the budget and implement systematic management." She also emphasized, "Measures must be taken to address the issue of counseling-related data not being backed up whenever the contractor is changed."
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