Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education: "Grant Reduction Due to Tax Revenue Decline... Serious Crisis in Education Finance"

Next Year’s General Grants Expected to Decrease by Over 1.1 Trillion Won
Fiscal Stabilization Fund "Falls Short of Deficit"
"Related Budget Must Be Secured Independently"

Amid projections that local education finance grants will significantly decrease due to a large-scale tax revenue shortfall this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has expressed strong opposition, stating that "education finances are facing a serious crisis." They also maintain that the financial stabilization funds accumulated in each city and provincial office of education are insufficient to cover the deficit.

On the 20th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's budget officer released a press statement saying, "According to the announcement of the 2024 government budget proposal, the 2024 ordinary grants are expected to decrease by about 1.1 trillion KRW compared to the previous year, and a revenue shortfall for 2023 is becoming certain."

According to next year's government budget proposal, local education finance grants will decrease by approximately 6.9 trillion KRW from this year’s 75.8 trillion KRW to 68.9 trillion KRW. Local education finance grants are divided into special accounts used for the Nuri Curriculum operation, special grants used for particular financial demands, and ordinary grants used for overall educational activities.

Among these, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education forecasts that the size of the ordinary grants next year will be 5.3 trillion KRW. This represents a decrease of more than 1.1 trillion KRW from this year’s 6.4 trillion KRW.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, attended the "Drug Response Related Companies Business Agreement Ceremony for a Healthy Drug-Free City Seoul" held at Seoul City Hall on the 19th and delivered a greeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso67@

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that the rapid increase in tax revenue during 2022?2023 temporarily increased grants and education finances, but this was a temporary phenomenon limited to 2022. The budget officer stated, "Next year is a time when sufficient budget support is needed for guaranteeing basic academic skills, protecting teachers' rights, and creating a digital education environment, yet securing an adequate budget is proving difficult."

They also rebutted the Ministry of Education’s proposed measure to address the tax revenue shortfall, the 'Integrated Education Finance Stabilization Fund.' As of September this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s financial stabilization fund reportedly only accumulated 200 billion KRW, falling short of the originally planned transfer amount of 1.12 trillion KRW. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education added that the 230 billion KRW accumulated as an education facility improvement fund was also created for use in other projects, making its transfer impossible.

[Source: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education]

They also cited that the fund itself cannot be used at any time. The budget officer said, "The currently accumulated amount is only 660 billion KRW, and it is necessary to review whether it meets the usage conditions and when it should be used." They further explained, "According to the maximum withdrawal limit stipulated by ordinance (within 50% of the accumulated amount), 330 billion KRW is the maximum, which is an insufficient amount compared to this year’s revenue shortfall and next year’s grant reduction."

The budget officer argued, "The claim that the grant reduction is due to a decrease in the number of students is a simple economic logic that assumes the current education is in an optimal state, completely disregarding the accumulated investment deficits, reserved integrated resources, and future educational demands." They added, "The related budget must be secured independently and separately from elementary and secondary education funds."

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