[What's Changing Next Year] Free Education and Childcare Subsidies Extended to Four-Year-Olds

Gradual Expansion of Free Education and Childcare Subsidies
Child Care Support Extended to Households Earning Up to 250% of Median Income
Infant Care Subsidy Raised from 1,500 to 2,000 Won
National Certification for Child Care Providers Beg

Starting next year, four-year-old children attending kindergartens and daycare centers will also be eligible for free education and childcare subsidies. The eligibility for the child care service support will be expanded from households earning up to 200% of the median income to those earning up to 250%. All university and graduate students will be able to receive tuition loans regardless of household income.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance published a booklet on the 31st titled "These Are the Changes from 2026," which outlines various policy changes in the fields of education, childcare, and family support.

Visitors browsing childcare product booths at the "2025 Daegu Baby & Kids Fair" held last May at EXCO in Buk-gu, Daegu. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the booklet, starting next year, free education and tuition support for children attending kindergartens and daycare centers will be expanded to include four-year-olds. While only five-year-olds were eligible this year, next year both four- and five-year-olds will be included, and by 2027, the coverage will extend to children aged three to five.

Parents of eligible children will receive support for the average costs they previously had to pay (20,000 won for public kindergartens, 110,000 won for private kindergartens, and 70,000 won for daycare centers). This support will be automatically deducted from the amounts parents currently pay to kindergartens and daycare centers, with no separate application required.

The eligibility for income-contingent student loans will be expanded. Tuition loans for undergraduate and graduate students, previously limited to those in income brackets up to level 9, will be available to all brackets up to level 10. All students will be able to apply for loans regardless of household income. Living expense loans for graduate students will be expanded from those in income brackets up to level 4 to those up to level 6.

The eligibility for the child care service, which provides in-home care for families who have difficulty caring for their children due to dual-income work and other reasons, will be expanded from households earning up to 200% of the median income to those earning up to 250%. The support rate will increase by 5-10% depending on the income bracket.

The hourly wage for infant care allowance will increase from 1,500 won to 2,000 won. In addition, a new child care allowance for young children will be introduced at 1,000 won per hour. Starting in April next year, a national qualification system for child care workers will be implemented, and a registration system for private child care service providers will also be introduced.

From March next year, after-school support will be expanded, and the "All Neighborhood Elementary Care" system (a collaborative care and education system between local governments and education offices/schools) will be introduced. Third-grade elementary school students who wish to participate in after-school programs will be provided with "after-school program vouchers" that can be used to pay for program fees.

Support for single-parent families will also be increased. The eligibility standard for welfare benefits such as child-rearing subsidies for single-parent families will be eased from households earning up to 63% of the median income to those earning up to 65%. The additional child-rearing allowance will be increased from 50,000-100,000 won per month to 100,000 won per month, and the living subsidy will be raised from 50,000 won to 100,000 won per month.

The support system for victims of digital sex crimes will be strengthened. Along with an improved content removal support system, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based proactive response system to online sexual exploitation of children and adolescents will be implemented starting in April next year.