"Tuition Fee Cash Support Not Possible"... Government Drives the Final Nail

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] There is little prospect of university tuition refunds through government financial support. Both the Blue House and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which manages the national treasury, have judged that tuition refunds funded by tax money are inappropriate.

According to government officials on the 21st, the Blue House and the government have settled on a position of 'not possible' regarding requests for university tuition refunds through financial support.

Earlier, on the 17th, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated at the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee plenary session, "Tuition refunds are a matter for universities that have collected tuition fees to decide on their own," and added, "It is not appropriate at this stage to cover tuition refunds with government finances," expressing a negative stance on cash support. The Ministry of Education also announced on the 18th during a briefing that "Tuition issues are fundamentally matters for universities to resolve through communication with students."

The government has already estimated that 48% of the 1.95 million university students are eligible for national scholarships. National scholarships provide differential support based on the applicant household's income and assets by income quintile. Based on monthly recognized income, income quintiles 1 to 3 receive 5.2 million KRW annually, quintile 4 receives 3.9 million KRW, quintiles 5 to 6 receive 3.68 million KRW, quintile 7 receives 1.2 million KRW, and quintile 8 receives 675,000 KRW respectively. In effect, low-income university students who are struggling to make ends meet are receiving policy support.

However, since the ruling and opposition parties are considering cash support measures through the 3rd supplementary budget, there is a possibility that this could be reflected during the full supplementary budget review process. A Ministry of Economy and Finance official added, "It is not right to inject finances when universities have not prepared self-help measures," and "If the financial difficulties of each university worsen, we may look into it, but direct support for tuition refunds is expected to be difficult."

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