University Tuition Frozen for 16 Years Likely to Be Raised This Time

Korean Council for University Education:
"2024 Tuition Down 22.4% From 2011 When Adjusted for Inflation"
Rising Expenses... Voices Say, "We Have Reached the Limit"

After being frozen for 16 years, university tuition fees are now on the verge of being raised. Although the government has once again recommended that universities freeze tuition this year, universities are expressing strong opposition, citing difficulties in managing their operations.

According to the Korean Council for University Education on January 23, the average annual tuition per student at all universities last year was 6,829,000 won, which is a 1.4% decrease compared to 2011. The Council analyzed that this was due to the government’s ongoing policy of reducing and freezing tuition fees. When adjusted for inflation, the real decrease amounts to 22.4%. For national and public universities, tuition dropped by 23.3% from 4,807,000 won in 2011 to 3,687,000 won, and for private universities, it fell by 21.9% from 8,552,000 won to 6,680,000 won.

Meanwhile, expenditure on maintenance and administrative operating costs has been steadily increasing. According to the Council’s survey, the expense-to-operating income ratio at private universities rose from 65.9% in 2011 to 72.9% in 2023, an increase of 7.0 percentage points. In contrast, operating profits have been on the decline. During the same period, operating profit dropped sharply from 855.9 billion won to 40.7 billion won. From 2017 to 2022, universities even recorded operating losses.

At the Council’s general assembly on January 21, university presidents voiced concerns about the difficulties in university operations caused by the prolonged tuition freeze. Yang Obong, president of Chonbuk National University and newly elected chairman of the Council, stated, “After deducting personnel, operating, and facility costs, we are left with only 30 to 40 billion won. For a university with more than 30,000 students, this amount is not enough to repair leaking roofs or broken restroom doors.” He added, “While national universities receive government support for personnel costs, private universities must cover these with tuition fees, making their situation even more difficult.” The complaints were also directed at Lee Jooho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, who attended the assembly. Lee Sungkeun, president of Sungshin Women’s University, remarked, “The fact that most universities are even considering raising tuition shows that we have reached our limit.” According to the “2025 Tuition Increase Status” distributed by the Private University Presidents’ Association on the same day, 27 universities have confirmed tuition hikes, 13 are pursuing increases, 27 have decided to freeze tuition, and the remaining 123 are still in discussion.

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