High school education will be free for all students in South Korea starting next year with expanded budget support. This would make education free for all primary, middle and high school students.
The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that it was seeking a budget of 76.3 trillion won ($64.48 billion) for 2021, up 0.8 percent, or 601.5 billion won, from the 75.7 trillion won allotted this year.
The proposed budget, set for a parliamentary review later this week, would increase spending on high school, lifelong and vocational education but cut back on kindergarten, elementary and middle school education.
Some 943.1 billion won of the 76.3 trillion won is to be used to make education free for all, including first-year high school students — currently the only paying cohort in Korea’s public school system.
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