The Education Officials Council of South Korea has called for a review and social discussion regarding the government's 2027 budget plan, which is based on a reform of the local education funding system, citing insufficient consultation with the education sector.
In a statement released on September 2, the council expressed concerns over the 2027 budget approved at a Cabinet meeting on September 1 and the direction of the local education funding system reform.
The council emphasized that local education funding is a crucial resource supporting educational activities in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, and that adequate consultation with local education offices is necessary before any changes are made.
A key issue is the proposed revision of the current tax revenue linkage system and the legal allocation rate of 20.79%.
The council argued that for local education offices, which do not have their own taxation authority, the tax revenue linkage system serves as a mechanism to secure a stable education budget regardless of the central government's financial conditions or policy decisions.
While the government cites the need for reform due to declining school-age populations and revenue volatility, the council explained that a decrease in student numbers does not necessarily correlate with proportional reductions in schools, classes, or staff.
The council also pointed out that new educational financial demands, such as special education, basic academic skills, student mental health, and childcare, are increasing, which should not be solely linked to the decline in school-age populations.
Discrepancies between the government and the education sector regarding the scale of funding increases have also emerged.
According to the council, the government claims that the funding for 2027 will increase by 10.1%, or 7.2031 trillion won, compared to the 2026 original budget of 71.6687 trillion won.
In contrast, the council argues that when comparing to the 2026 revised budget, which includes adjustments, the actual increase is about 2.4 trillion won, resulting in a growth rate of only 3.2%.
The council noted that this growth rate is lower than the 3.9% increase in public employee salaries for 2027, highlighting the need to consider fixed costs such as staff salaries and school operating expenses.
Concerns were also raised regarding the future response fund. The council criticized the government's plan to convert part of the legal allocation into a future response fund, arguing that the nature of the funds allocated to local education offices by law differs from those managed by the central government.
The council emphasized that the major projects funded by the 4.9315 trillion won allocated to the future response fund for education and talent development in 2027 focus on early childhood education, university and youth support, and training in AI and advanced skills, underscoring the need for a stable investment mechanism for early childhood and primary and secondary education.
The council also demanded a detailed financial outlook following the proposed reforms.
It requested that the government disclose the basis for the new formula, which includes a standard amount of 75.7 trillion won and the average growth rate over three years, as well as the projected funding amounts for each year from 2027 to 2030 under both the existing 20.79% linkage system and the new formula, along with cumulative differences.
Additionally, the council called for a detailed disclosure of the impact on local financial scales, teacher and educational staff salaries, basic academic skills, special education, educational welfare, overcrowded classrooms, support for small rural schools, and improvements to aging school facilities.
Concerns were also raised regarding the legislative notice period. The council pointed out that the legislative notice for the proposed amendment to the Local Education Funding Act was conducted over just five days, urging the government to explain the reasons for the shortened period and the basis for determining that sufficient public input was gathered.
Jeong Geun-sik, president of the Education Officials Council and Seoul's education superintendent, stated, “The government must reconsider the significance of the 20.79% linkage system and engage in thorough discussions with the education sector to create a future education finance system that the public can accept.”
Meanwhile, the government's 2027 budget is set to be submitted to the National Assembly on September 3. The Education Officials Council plans to inform the National Assembly about the potential impacts of the local education funding reform on schools and ensure that the opinions of local education offices are reflected during the budget and related legislation review process.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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