"University Student Scholarship Rate at 70%... Multi-Child Education Support from Second Child Onwards"

"Health Insurance Premium Adjustments for Young Part-Timers Also Under Review"
Kwon Seong-dong: "Democratic Party Shifts Burden to Youth for the Sake of the KCTU"

On the 12th, the People Power Party met with university and graduate students and announced plans to increase the scholarship ratio relative to total university tuition from the current 60% to 70%. They are expanding their outreach while promising policies for youth.

Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, held a youth policy meeting titled "We will ease the burden on youth, People Power Party will help" at the National Assembly Sarangjae in the morning, discussing issues such as university tuition and health insurance premiums incurred during part-time jobs.

Floor leader Kwon said, "Before being a politician, I thought about what role I should play as an older generation," adding, "We will break the shells of the old era through reforming the labor market centered on the older generation, unfair pension systems, and regulations that hinder creativity and challenge."

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at a youth policy meeting held at the National Assembly Sarangnae on the 12th. 2025.3.12 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The main policy the People Power Party plans to promote is increasing the scholarship ratio for university students. Floor leader Kwon stated, "We will raise the scholarship ratio relative to total university tuition from the current 60% to 70%" to reduce the burden on the younger generation.

Regarding multi-child tuition support, they proposed changing the national scholarship payment from the third child to starting from the second child. Kwon said, "Currently, benefits are given when the third child enters university, but the third child may not attend university," adding, "Considering national finances, we will proceed gradually but plan to shift the policy to provide benefits preferably starting from the first child."

They also plan to find improvement measures for the system where health insurance dependent status is lost if annual income exceeds 5 million won. Kwon mentioned, "As the period of enrollment and job preparation lengthens, part-time jobs are also increasing," and "Platform work like Coupang delivery loses health insurance dependent status if annual income exceeds 5 million won, which is pointed out as not matching reality."

Regarding this, Kim Chae-su, chairman of the People Power Party Central University Student Committee, requested expanding health insurance premium reduction benefits to university student part-timers. He explained, "Part-timers working more than 15 hours a week must bear the full cost themselves without employer contribution, unlike regular employees," adding, "If the monthly salary is 1 million won, they have to pay 70,000 won in health insurance premiums." In response, Kim Yong-tae, chairman of the party’s Central Youth Committee and emergency committee member, said, "We will also discuss measures to reduce health insurance premiums for young part-timers."

Floor leader Kwon also urged the Democratic Party to change its stance on pension issues closely related to the future of youth. He said, "I am not saying that People Power Party was always right and the Democratic Party was always wrong," but emphasized, "With the Democratic Party monopolizing legislative power and protecting vested interests of strong supporters like the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, we cannot help but point out the problem of shifting burdens to youth on issues like pension reform."

After the meeting, Kwon told reporters regarding the budget for expanding scholarships, "It seems difficult in this supplementary budget," adding, "We will consult with the government to reflect it in next year’s budget."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party has continued its communication with the youth by holding a joint launch ceremony of the party’s Central Youth Committee and Central University Student Committee on the 8th. This is interpreted as a strategy to target the 2030 generation amid talks of a possible early presidential election.

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