Korean Education Chiefs Demand Funding Safeguards Amid Major Grant Overhaul

South Korea's regional education superintendents are up in arms, demanding ironclad funding safeguards before the government scraps a 54-year-old system linking local education grants directly to national tax revenue. This urgent pushback comes as the Ministry of Planning and Budget, alongside the Ministry of Education, plans to overhaul the funding mechanism this week, aiming to address perceived inefficiencies in the current model. At the heart of this dispute is the long-standing formula that automatically allocates 20.79% of domestic tax revenue to elementary and secondary education, a system critics argue has become unsustainable. Despite a sharp decline of 1.75 million students over the last decade, education grants have surged by 77%, partly fueled by an unexpected semiconductor boom boosting tax coffers. Superintendents, however, warn that simply adjusting grants based on a shrinking school-age population, as proposed by the government, risks undermining stability and failing to meet evolving needs like AI education and closing learning gaps, potentially cutting next year's budget by 20 trillion Korean won. The ministries are reportedly divided over the finer points, particularly the specifics of a new 'Future Response Fund' intended to reallocate excess funds to areas like early childhood and university education. Seoul Superintendent Chung Keun-sik has blasted the government for a 'negligent' consultation process, with regional education chiefs now calling for an official consultative body and even a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung, as the planned reform announcement looms this week, potentially affecting the September budget submission to the National Assembly.