The government firmly denied that the education budget for kindergartens and primary and secondary schools will decrease, even with changes to the calculation method for local education funding. The aim is to resolve the instability caused by the previous system, which was mechanically linked to domestic tax revenues, leading to significant impacts on local education offices during revenue shortfalls. The government plans to ensure stable budget increases through national compensation provisions.
During a joint briefing at the Government Seoul Building on the 21st, Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-keun addressed concerns that the reform of local education funding would shrink financial support for primary and secondary education, stating, "There is absolutely no way that the education budget for our children will decrease."
Education Minister Yoo Kyung-jin also emphasized, "The first condition we agreed upon when starting discussions on the funding reform with the Ministry of Planning and Budget was to ensure that the budget for supporting primary and secondary students does not decrease or fall short of covering even inflation-adjusted labor costs, no matter what happens."
The government pointed out that the previous system, which linked 20.79% of domestic tax revenues to education funding, actually exacerbated financial instability. Minister Park questioned, "How long must we maintain this instability, which forced education offices to bear enormous burdens due to deficits in 2023 and 2024?" He explained that a comprehensive analysis over the past 40 years led to the creation of a new formula that guarantees no reduction in funding.
He noted that the new formula adequately considers demands for artificial intelligence (AI) education, childcare needs, improvements to aging school facilities, and labor costs. The law will explicitly state that if the budget decreases compared to the previous year, the government will be responsible for covering the difference, establishing multiple safety measures.
Minister Yoo added that, according to the new formula, the budget for primary and secondary education funding is expected to increase significantly from 2027 to 2030.
The government also made it clear that the resources secured through the funding reform will not be diverted to other sectors but will be reinvested entirely within the education sector. Minister Park stated, "We intend to use the resources generated from the reform to evenly and balancedly invest in areas that have lacked funding, such as early childhood education, higher education, and lifelong learning. The goal of maintaining the 20.79% domestic tax revenue linkage is to ensure that we continue to invest in all areas of education and talent development without diverting funds elsewhere."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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