Education Grant Reform Bill Moves to National Assembly... 377 Organizations Launch "Nationwide Protest"

A total of 377 organizations—including those representing education, labor, parents, students, and civil society—have launched a nationwide campaign demanding that the government maintain the current system linking 20.79% of domestic taxes to local education grants, as the government seeks to overhaul the allocation formula.

On September 15, the coalition of these groups, known as the "2026 Emergency Action to Respond to Local Education Finance Grant Reform," held a press conference in front of the main gate of the National Assembly. They urged, "The National Assembly should reconsider the government's plan to amend the Local Education Finance Grant Act from scratch and maintain the 20.79% linkage to domestic taxes." They also called for lawmakers to "refrain from pushing the bill through hastily without adequate public debate and verification."

On August 21, the government announced a reform proposal to abolish the current method of automatically allocating 20.79% of domestic taxes to the grant and, instead, to calculate funding based on the trend of real growth rates and changes in the school-age population. Following five days of pre-legislation notification, the related bill was submitted to the National Assembly on September 3. In response, the Emergency Action coalition has been holding a sit-in with tents in front of the National Assembly since September 7.

Education groups argue that a decrease in the number of students does not immediately translate into a reduction in educational expenses. They point out that even with fewer students, fixed costs such as school and class operations, as well as staff salaries, must still be maintained. Additionally, there is a growing need for funding for basic academic skills, special education, after-school care, student mental health, and the improvement of outdated facilities.

Park Younghwan, chief of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, said, "It is only natural that the per-student grant increases when student numbers decline. Schools, classes, and teaching staff should continue to be maintained, and more extensive investment is needed in supporting basic academic skills, counseling for students with emotional difficulties, the expansion of special education, and the improvement of aging facilities."

The government and the education sector also disagree over the scale of increase in the grant amount. The government asserts that even under the proposed changes, total grants for next year will rise by 10.1% compared to the previous year. In contrast, the Emergency Action coalition claims that when the previous year's supplementary budget is included in the calculation, the actual increase would be only 3.2%. They further argue that, after factoring in the 3.9% growth in teacher salaries and essential cost hikes for utilities and school meals, the actual budget available for schools may end up shrinking.

The coalition also raised concerns about the separately established Future Response Fund, stating, "There is no guarantee that resources will be regularly and legally distributed to city and provincial education offices," and arguing that local education autonomy could be undermined.

Hong Sunghee, Secretary General of the Teachers' Union Federation, commented, "The National Assembly must carefully examine whether the reform truly serves the future of education and whether the voices of those on the frontlines have been sufficiently taken into account, and should reject the proposal if not."

Debate over the grant system reform is expected to intensify in the National Assembly. On September 16, the Emergency Action coalition will also participate as a panelist in a public hearing of the Education Committee to raise its concerns about the government's proposal.

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