Busan Office of Education to Greatly Expand Support for Treatment Costs for Students with Type 1 Diabetes and Intractable Diseases

36 Billion KRW Allocated from Own Budget Starting in 2026
Expanded Eligibility and Support Scale to Strengthen Protection of Students' Right to Learn

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education will significantly expand both the eligibility and scale of medical expense support for students in the Busan area suffering from type 1 diabetes or intractable diseases, starting next year.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kim Seokjun) announced on the 24th that, beginning in 2026, it will expand its medical expense support project for students with type 1 diabetes and intractable diseases, using its own budget to help these students maintain a healthy school life.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease in which insulin is not secreted from the pancreas, making blood sugar control difficult. As of early 2025, there are 148 students with type 1 diabetes and 963 students with intractable diseases enrolled in schools in the Busan area.

Until now, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education had provided medical expense support only to some low-income students, using donations raised through an agreement with the Busan Community Chest of Korea. However, reflecting feedback from the field about the limitations in eligibility and scale, the office has decided to significantly expand the scope of support by allocating its own budget starting next year.

To this end, in October, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education completed a preliminary consultation on the social security system with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and secured a dedicated budget of 3.6 billion won for medical expense support after budget deliberations.

The scope of support will also be greatly expanded. This year, only 1.455 billion won in medical expenses was provided to 69 students with type 1 diabetes or intractable diseases using donations from the Community Chest. However, starting in 2026, the office plans to support 200 students with type 1 diabetes, whose numbers are increasing each year, with 300,000 won per person, and 100 students with intractable diseases with 3 million won per person.

Previously, support was mainly provided to low-income students through donations, but from next year, the use of the office’s own budget will allow the expansion of eligibility to include general students as well. This is expected to provide substantial assistance to students and families facing academic difficulties due to the burden of medical expenses. In addition, the existing support using donations from the Busan Community Chest of Korea will continue in parallel.

Kim Seokjun, Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "We have established an institutional foundation to ensure that students' right to learn is not restricted due to health issues," and added, "Based on the secured budget and the results of consultations, we will implement the program smoothly so that it can be stably established in the field."