Lee Ju-ho "Freezing Tuition Fees at Key National Universities... Grateful for Exemplary Decision"

Meeting with Presidents of Flagship National Universities on the 20th
"Please Make Efforts to Normalize Medical School Education"

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, met with the presidents of flagship national universities who decided to freeze tuition fees this year and said, "Thank you for making a exemplary decision."

Yonhap News

On the afternoon of the 20th, Deputy Prime Minister Lee held a 'Flagship National University Presidents' Meeting' at the Government Complex Sejong and made these remarks. He said, "Despite financial difficulties, the flagship national universities made an exemplary decision to freeze tuition fees to alleviate the financial burden on university students," and evaluated it as "a valuable decision to expand higher education opportunities and strengthen publicness." He added, "The Ministry of Education will work harder to ease financial difficulties and improve the quality of higher education so that these efforts by universities do not go in vain." Previously, a total of 10 flagship national universities, including Seoul National University, Chungbuk National University, Kangwon National University, Kyungpook National University, Gyeongsang National University, Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Jeju National University, and Chungnam National University, decided to freeze tuition fees this year.

To ensure stable expansion of university finances, the Ministry of Education established a special account for higher and lifelong education support in 2023 and increased the higher education budget by about 3.5 trillion won over the past three years. Last month, it established the 'Basic Plan for Higher Education Financial Support,' which serves as the fundamental framework and strategy for securing higher education finances. Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "We will actively promote the extension of the special account, which is set to expire this year, and do our best to secure the necessary finances for national universities to serve as hubs for regional innovation and academic excellence."

Regarding medical school education, he stated, "Due to the academic disruptions over the past year, the suspension of student education and medical workforce training has been prolonged, causing a significant social burden," and urged, "To normalize education for the 2025 academic year, I ask you to actively communicate with students and encourage their return." He added, "For the 2025 freshmen, since taking a leave of absence in the first semester is not possible at the national universities present today, I request special attention to ensure that freshmen can participate in the March new semester classes."

He also said, "The upcoming new semester will be challenging as it involves not only the increased number of 2025 freshmen but also students from the 2024 academic year attending classes simultaneously," and noted, "It seems necessary to have detailed plans and preparations based on cooperation between university headquarters and medical school members for curriculum design and operation, securing educational conditions, etc. The Ministry of Education will also provide full administrative and financial support for the normalization of medical school education at universities."

Regarding the medical school quota for the 2026 academic year, he said, "I have mentioned that we can flexibly negotiate from a zero base," and added, "We will strive to finalize it as soon as possible."

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