Semester 1 Student Loan Interest Rate Reduced to 2.0%... Applications Open from the 8th

Increase in Repayment Income Threshold for Post-Employment Student Loans
Reduction in Late Payment Penalty Rate

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation announced on the 6th that the interest rate on student loans for the first semester will be lowered to 2.0%. This is a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the previous semester's loan interest rate of 2.2%.

Additionally, the repayment threshold income for income-contingent student loans will be raised from the current 20.8 million KRW to 21.74 million KRW. Furthermore, the method of imposing late payment penalties on general repayment student loans will change from the existing flat rate (6%) to a system where new borrowers this year will be charged the loan interest rate (2%) plus a late payment surcharge (2.5%), reducing the burden.

For living expense loans, the previous limit of 1.5 million KRW per semester and a maximum of 4 times has been abolished since March this year, allowing unlimited borrowing with a minimum of 100,000 KRW per loan. Starting this year, notification of loan information to parents will be gradually expanded up to second-year students to prevent loans for purposes other than tuition fees.

Applications for first semester student loans can be made from the 8th using the applicant's public authentication certificate via the Korea Student Aid Foundation website or mobile application. Tuition loan applications can be submitted until 2 PM on April 14, and loans can be disbursed until 5 PM on the same day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.