Government "Continued Implementation of Free High School Education... 35% Increase in Overseas Publishing Budget"

Ministry of Economy and Finance Next Year's Budget Proposal
Digital Sex Crime Response Budget Up 40%

The government announced that although the national funding burden has ended, free high school education will continue to be implemented. It also added that the budget for translation and overseas publication support will be increased by 35% next year, following author Han Kang's receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance released reference materials for next year's budget proposal. The materials included contents such as free high school education, K-Pass support, improvement of military meal quality, expansion of translation and overseas publication support budgets, and increased national treasury support for the employment insurance fund.

Regarding misunderstandings that free high school education might be difficult to continue due to budget cuts for next year, the Ministry explained, "The national treasury burden regulation for free high school education is scheduled to sunset at the end of the year, but the expiration of national funding does not mean the abolition of free high school education."

They further stated, "The sunset of national funding is according to the original plan, and free high school education will be steadily promoted through grants. Considering the recent decline in the school-age population and the scale of grants next year, it is expected that the grants will be sufficient to cover the costs."

In response to criticism that budget support related to Korean literature translation is insufficient despite Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature award, the Ministry said, "Next year's government proposal reflects a 34.5% increase in the budget for translation and overseas publication support essential for the globalization of K-literature (from 2.3 billion KRW to 3.1 billion KRW)."

They added, "Although the budget for translation workforce training projects was partially reduced next year (-500 million KRW), this is mainly due to the completion of projects such as the establishment of digital lecture facilities. As a result of reflecting increases in major projects, the national treasury support for the Korean Literature Translation Institute next year is expected to be about 14.1 billion KRW, a 6.3% increase compared to the previous year."

The Ministry of Economy and Finance set the total budget for responding to digital sex crimes such as deepfakes at 12.6 billion KRW next year, a 40% increase compared to this year. In particular, to enable rapid response in the early stages of incidents, the budget for investigation and punishment related to forged video analysis has been significantly expanded from 300 million KRW this year to 3.5 billion KRW next year.

Regarding the budget for improving military personnel treatment, short-term service incentives, allowances, duty pay, and housing allowances will be doubled next year, and the overtime pay cap and the salaries of junior officers will be increased. The reduction in military meal expenses next year is explained by the Ministry as due to "a decrease in the number of soldiers and the need to reduce food waste."

Regarding the general account transfer to the employment insurance fund, the Ministry stated that the related budget is the largest ever and "there are no plans to raise the employment insurance premium rate." Regarding the national treasury support for health insurance not meeting the statutory ratio, they emphasized, "Health insurance is principally operated through premium income, and the scale of national treasury support has been determined by comprehensively considering the financial situation of the state and health insurance."

Regarding the 'K-Pass' related to public transportation discounts, they said, "This year, due to great response after the system's introduction, the number of subscribers exceeded the initial estimate (1.85 million by year-end) at the time of budget allocation," and added, "We plan to take financial measures within this year to ensure that public transportation fare refunds are made in a timely manner."

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