Korea Student Aid Foundation to Provide Tuition Support for Students in Special Disaster Zones: Wildfires, Fighter Jet Bombing, and Heavy Rain Damage

The Korea Student Aid Foundation (Chairman Bae Byungil) and the Ministry of Education announced on August 5 that, starting from the second semester of 2025, they will provide "disaster-affected household tuition support" to students from families in areas declared special disaster zones due to wildfire damage (March), fighter jet accidental bombing damage (March), and heavy rain damage (July 16-20).

The Korea Student Aid Foundation is a quasi-governmental institution under the Ministry of Education, established in 2009 to provide professional and comprehensive financial support for higher education, ensuring that anyone can access higher education opportunities based on their will and ability, regardless of their economic circumstances. With an annual budget exceeding 11 trillion won, the foundation implements various programs to foster future talent, including national scholarships, student loans, work-study scholarships, national excellence scholarships, donations, and mentoring.

Korea Student Aid Foundation

The "disaster-affected household tuition support" is a type of national scholarship designed to help students from households that have suffered economic losses due to national disasters, ensuring that they do not have to unexpectedly interrupt their studies because of tuition costs.

Based on the date the special disaster zone is declared, tuition support will be provided for two consecutive semesters, starting from the following semester and lasting for one year. The amount will vary depending on the student's financial aid bracket and the severity of the disaster damage, and will cover essential expenses within the tuition range. For students from households whose homes have been at least half-destroyed, national scholarships will be provided promptly from the second semester of 2025 to help alleviate their financial burden.

Students from disaster-affected households in special disaster zones must apply for the national scholarship. If they miss the first application period for the second semester of 2025, they must apply during the second application period (August 13 to September 10, 2025) in order to receive support.

Additionally, support will only be provided to students who have been officially recognized as disaster-affected households after their local government has completed the verification and reporting of the extent of housing damage. Therefore, students must report the damage to their local government in the affected area.

Bae Byungil, Chairman of the Korea Student Aid Foundation, stated, "We expect that by promptly providing tuition support to university students from households in areas declared as special disaster zones, we will greatly help reduce the educational expenses for families facing economic hardship due to national disasters."

He added, "Going forward, the Korea Student Aid Foundation will continue its efforts to expand tuition support so that university students do not have to give up their studies due to unforeseen difficulties."

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