Ruling Party and Government Reach Consensus on Tuition Refund Measures... Differences in Funding Methods Remain

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The ruling party and the government have decided to prepare support measures in response to university students' demands for tuition refunds amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 17th, members of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, and Kim Yeon-myeong, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Blue House, held a meeting between the ruling party, government, and the Blue House at the National Assembly to discuss the issue of tuition refund demands.

Since universities are the entities responsible for tuition refunds, the ruling party and government are considering providing budget support to universities to alleviate their financial difficulties and encourage the effect of tuition refunds. However, regarding funding sources, the Democratic Party favors increasing the third supplementary budget (supplementary budget), while the government and the Blue House lean toward reallocating existing Ministry of Education budget items.

Park Chan-dae, a Democratic Party member and secretary of the Education Committee, stated after the meeting, "We are taking seriously the hardships university students are experiencing due to COVID-19," adding, "There were many opinions in favor of actively considering alternative measures."

There is disagreement between the ruling party and government on how to secure funding. Song Gap-seok, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, indicated the possibility of increasing the supplementary budget, saying, "There is clearly a sense of urgency within the party that the related budget is not reflected in the supplementary budget."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki said during the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee briefing, "The issue of tuition refunds is a matter for universities that have collected tuition to decide independently, and it is not appropriate at this stage for the government to cover tuition refunds with public funds," but added, "There is a channel through which the government supports universities financially, and expanding this framework can be considered."

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