Busan Office of Education Sets 2026 Budget at 5.53 Trillion Won... "Strengthening AI, Customized Education, and Safe Environments"

5.53 Trillion Won Budget, Up 196.6 Billion Won from Last Year
AI-Based Future Education and Early Implementation of Free Kindergarten

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kim Seokjun) announced on November 11 that it has submitted the "2026 Busan Special Account for Educational Expenses Main Budget Proposal" to the Busan Metropolitan Council. The proposed budget totals 5.5317 trillion won, an increase of 196.6 billion won (3.7%) compared to this year.

The budget proposal is guided by the vision, "Together Toward the Future, Leading Busan Education," and focuses on four key priorities: ▲ Human-centered future education leading the AI era ▲ Customized education that fosters both academic achievement and emotional well-being ▲ Safe educational environments that protect educational activities ▲ Civic education that nurtures wise future talents.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education has allocated a total of 93.1 billion won to establish future-oriented educational environments in response to the AI and digital transformation.

For class innovation to nurture future talents, 23.6 billion won will be invested, with an additional 16.2 billion won allocated to strengthen the foundation for AI and digital education. Furthermore, 51.5 billion won from the Educational Informatization Fund will be used to replace approximately 6,800 outdated PCs for teachers and to distribute 24,000 smart devices for student learning. In addition, a total of 53.3 billion won will be allocated to support students' emotional sensitivity and balanced development through arts, reading, and sports activities.

Budget allocations for academic achievement and childcare support will be significantly increased, including 3.6 billion won for establishing self-directed learning environments in middle schools, 22 billion won for customized learning support, and 45.3 billion won for the early implementation of free education at private kindergartens.

In addition, 465.2 billion won will be allocated for psychological and emotional care and educational welfare policies, 28.6 billion won for supporting students with special needs and multicultural backgrounds, and 16.8 billion won for expanding career and vocational education, thereby strengthening the "integrated customized support system for students."

The establishment of an administrative support system based on the AI assistant "PenGPT" will be fully implemented to protect teachers' educational activities and reduce administrative workloads.

There will be focused investments in creating a "safe school environment," including the introduction of a school safety experience bus (900 million won), disaster and safety education and the creation of safe environments (44.3 billion won), and improvements to outdated facilities (338.4 billion won).

A total of 14.7 billion won will be invested in Busan-style civic education programs, including history and unification education (3.2 billion won), marine education (4.9 billion won), and ecological transition education (6.6 billion won).

The Office of Education plans to increase school operating expenses by 8.27% compared to the previous year and to secure an additional 32.6 billion won by integrating inflexible projects, thereby enhancing both school autonomy and fiscal efficiency.

Superintendent Kim Seokjun stated, "We have focused on supporting the academic and emotional growth of each student and building a safe educational environment to prepare for the era of AI and digital transformation. We will realize a future-oriented Busan education where students and faculty grow together."

This budget proposal is scheduled to undergo a preliminary review and a review by the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the Busan Metropolitan Council starting at the end of November, with final approval expected at the plenary session on December 11.

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education