Ministry of Education Decides to Review Gwangju Office of Education’s New Building Project

Central Investment Review Committee: "Insufficient Project Budget... Increase Needed"
Civic Group Voices Concern: "Student Budget Should Come First"

Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education building.

The Ministry of Education has decided to conduct a comprehensive review of the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education's new office building construction project.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education and other sources on August 1, the Central Investment Review Committee of the Ministry of Education recently held a meeting and requested revisions to the detailed plans for the project as well as a readjustment of the budget.

The committee specifically determined that the budget allocated for parking lots and employee welfare facilities was significantly insufficient and expressed the opinion that an increase in the budget was necessary.

In response, the education civic group "Citizens' Coalition for a Society Without Academic Cliques" voiced concerns. They stated that if the total project cost is adjusted to around 150 billion won, there will likely be serious disruptions to key educational programs such as student welfare and basic academic support.

The coalition pointed out that the currently estimated cost already reaches around 110 billion won, and in this case, more than half of the Integrated Fiscal Stabilization Fund would be depleted for the construction of the new office building.

They also cited the 2024 fiscal year settlement data, noting that the fund, which stood at 446.1 billion won in 2022, is expected to plummet to 129.3 billion won by the end of 2025. They particularly criticized the Office of Education for prioritization issues, such as postponing asbestos removal work at 24 schools by one year due to budget shortages.

The coalition stated, "The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education must establish a fiscal stabilization plan for the new office building construction," and added, "The Gwangju City Council should also suspend the enforcement of the ordinance on the construction fund for the new office building and call for public discussion."

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