South Korea to reform education funding, minister assures total amount won't decrease

South Korean Finance Minister Park Yun-gyu has unveiled a plan to reform the local education funding system, aiming to reassure educators concerned about potential budget cuts. He emphasized that the total amount allocated for elementary and secondary education will not decrease compared to previous years.

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The total amount will not decrease compared to previous years.

Park stated on social media that the reform is not intended to diminish education finances. The current system allocates 20.79% of national tax revenue to local education offices. The Ministry of Economy and Finance is pushing for reform due to questions about the appropriateness of allocating a fixed percentage of increasing national taxes to education, especially as the student population declines. This year's allocation is approximately 76.44 trillion won, expected to exceed 80 trillion won with anticipated excess tax revenue from the semiconductor industry.

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This reform is by no means intended to cut down the finances for elementary and secondary education.

The minister pledged that the total funding would not shrink and would continue to increase annually, considering long-term growth trends. He also promised to increase the per-student funding each year. To address budget volatility that has made stable financial planning difficult for education offices and schools, Park assured that the reform would mitigate sharp fluctuations, ensuring predictable and stable operations.

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We will ensure that the overall elementary and secondary education budget does not shrink or contract, but increases every year, fully considering the long-term growth trend.

Furthermore, Park announced that any funds saved through the reform would be reinvested in areas like higher education, lifelong learning, and early childhood education, which have historically lacked sufficient investment. He also stressed the need to reflect demographic changes, noting the significant difference in population environment since the current system was established in 1972, and that the declining number of children will be naturally incorporated into the funding calculation standards.

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The precious funds secured through institutional improvement will be equitably reinvested in areas that have long needed investment, such as university education, lifelong learning, and early childhood education, contributing to the overall improvement of education in Korea.