Expansion of Private Kindergarten Corporate Conversion... Revision of Closure Approval Criteria

Increase Support for Conversion of Privately Operated Kindergartens to Corporations
Only School Corporations Allowed for New Establishment in the Long Term
Include Kindergartens in Business Succession Tax Deduction
Extend Closure Approval Processing Period to 60 Days

Entrance ceremony of Seoul Guam Kindergarten, the nation's first purchased kindergarten, which opened on March 8, 2019. The photo is unrelated to the article content. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education is promoting the conversion of private kindergartens into corporations and expanding support projects for public-type kindergartens to secure the public nature of private kindergartens. To prevent indiscriminate closures of kindergartens, the criteria for closure approval will be revised and the processing period extended.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Education announced follow-up measures to support private kindergartens and strengthen their public nature. The Ministry prepared these follow-up measures to support the sound operation of private kindergartens and enhance transparency to restore trust.

Since the controversy over corrupt kindergartens erupted in October 2018, the government announced measures to strengthen the public nature of private kindergartens, and in January last year, the "Kindergarten Three Acts" passed the National Assembly. The Kindergarten Three Acts refer to the 'Private School Act,' which criminally punishes corrupt kindergarten operators; the 'School Meals Act,' which includes kindergarten meals in the scope of school meals; and the amendment to the 'Early Childhood Education Act,' which mandates the use of the national management accounting system (Edufine) so that the government can oversee private kindergarten accounting, preventing arbitrary handling.

The Ministry of Education will maintain the policy of expanding public-type kindergartens while encouraging the conversion of individually established kindergartens into corporations. To this end, it will extend the corporate conversion support project and promote financial support such as personnel expenses for corporate-converted kindergartens through consultations with metropolitan and provincial offices of education. A public-type kindergarten is a private kindergarten model that receives human and material resources support from the education office, reduces the burden on parents, and strengthens publicness to a level comparable to national and public kindergartens. Currently, there are eight public-type kindergartens.

The Ministry of Education also plans to amend the Early Childhood Education Act in the long term so that only school corporations or non-profit corporations can newly establish private kindergartens.

As the number of young children continues to decline and the period of restricted attendance due to COVID-19 prolongs, the number of private kindergartens closing due to management difficulties is increasing every year. In 2019, 257 kindergartens closed, and last year, 261 kindergartens shut down.

To protect learning rights, the Ministry of Education will revise the closure approval criteria of metropolitan and provincial offices of education. Fifteen metropolitan and provincial offices have completed revising closure criteria to require relocation measures and consent from more than two-thirds of parents. The processing period will be extended from 15 days to 60 days so that the competent authority can carefully review the validity of closures.

In cases where some private kindergartens refuse to submit audit materials, the Ministry plans to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Early Childhood Education Act to allow administrative sanctions such as 'suspension of child recruitment.' The criteria for imposing fines will also be raised for illegal names such as 'OO English Kindergarten,' 'OO Play School,' 'Preschool,' or 'Kids School.'

Kindergartens will be included in the business succession deduction to reduce inheritance tax burdens for kindergarten operators inheriting the business. The deduction applies to kindergartens that have operated for at least 10 years. If the business closes within eight years after the business succession deduction, inheritance tax must be paid.

To improve working conditions for private kindergarten teachers, the basic salary will be increased to 710,000 KRW. Parental leave allowances for teachers will also be supported at the level of national and public school teachers. The Ministry of Education will require kindergarten regulations to include a salary standard table for staff and establish related guidelines. Clear salary payment standards will be created by setting criteria for salary and allowance payments, and related regulations will be revised so that metropolitan and provincial offices of education can inspect and manage this information.

To reduce parents' tuition burdens and enable stable kindergarten operation, the support unit price for the Nuri Curriculum will be raised to 260,000 KRW this year, an increase of 20,000 KRW from last year. Class operation expenses will be increased to 450,000 KRW per class, 30,000 KRW higher than last year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "As we have done so far, we will continue to strengthen the transparency and accountability of private kindergartens and foster sound private kindergartens through institutional and financial support. We ask private kindergartens to actively cooperate to improve the quality of early childhood education."

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