Full tuition support for regional university freshmen as rural basic-income pilot expands to 35 areas

South Korea’s next budget puts regional development at the center, offering full tuition support to freshmen at national universities outside the capital region and expanding a basic-income project for rural and fishing communities to 35 areas.

The plan also establishes a 1.3 trillion-won special account for essential regional healthcare. A separate 360 billion-won program will allow provincial governments to design their own responses to medical shortages, rather than relying solely on centrally directed measures.

The locally led projects will focus on four areas: building regional healthcare cooperation systems, strengthening pediatric care at night and on holidays, securing medical workers in underserved areas, and providing mobile medical safety-net services.

The government will spend 118.8 billion won next year as part of a five-year plan to develop specialized fields at nine regional national university hospitals across five major metropolitan regions and three special autonomous provinces. Support will cover advanced facilities and equipment, recruitment of top medical professionals, and global networks. The budget also includes 4.4 billion won to train local doctors, with 490 students entering the program next year and subject to a 10-year obligation.