Ministry says "private education spending has begun to fall"; KFTA calls it an "illusion caused by more families giving up"

[The Financial News] The total amount spent on private education in 2025 was 27.5 trillion won, down 5.7% from the previous year and marking the first decline in eight years. The Ministry of Education highlighted this as a policy achievement, saying it had reversed the steady rise in private education spending seen since 2017. However, the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) argued that the result reflects not so much a shrinking school-age population as stagnant real incomes, driven by slower economic growth and high inflation, which have pushed private education spending to a breaking point.
According to the "2025 Survey on Private Education Expenses for Elementary, Middle and High Schools" released by the Ministry of Education on the 12th, last year’s total private education spending was about 27.5351 trillion won, roughly 1.7 trillion won less than a year earlier. The participation rate in private education also fell to 75.7%, down 4.3 percentage points from 80.0% the previous year, suggesting on paper that the private education boom has eased. At a briefing that day, Lee Yun-hong, Director General of the AI Talent Support Bureau at the ministry, stressed the significance of this first downturn in eight years, but people on the ground see it differently.
KFTA contended that the decline in private education spending reflects households hitting the limits of their financial capacity, rather than any real easing of the education burden. It noted that with economic growth stuck in the 1% range in 2025 and high prices persisting, real disposable income for households has stagnated or fallen, which has had a major impact. The group believes that private education costs have already exceeded what many families can bear, leading more students to give up private lessons for economic reasons.
For students who actually take part in private education, the financial burden remains at a record high. The average monthly spending on private education per participating student was 604,000 won, up 2.0% from 592,000 won a year earlier. The Ministry of Education explained that this growth rate is lower than the 2.3% rise in consumer prices, saying the upward trend has slowed. KFTA, however, questioned the effectiveness of government measures, pointing out that total private education spending has surged 51.9% over the past decade, from 18.1 trillion won to 27.5 trillion won.
The gap between income groups has also widened. Students from households earning 8 million won or more per month spent an average of 662,000 won per month on private education, while those from households earning less than 3 million won spent just 192,000 won, a difference of about 3.4 times. Notably, the drop in participation among low-income students was 5.3 percentage points, twice the 2.6 percentage-point decline seen in high-income households, underscoring the accelerating inequality of educational opportunities based on economic status. In terms of participation rates, 84.9% of students from households earning 8 million won or more received private education, compared with only 52.8% from households earning under 3 million won.
By school level, high school students who participated in private education spent the most, at 752,000 won per month on average, followed by middle school students at 626,000 won and elementary school students at 501,000 won. Spending by students at general academic high schools reached 799,000 won, indicating that a high-cost structure has become entrenched. For second graders in elementary school, the participation rate fell from 90.4% to 86.5%, a drop of 3.9 percentage points, showing some improvement in the lower grades. However, spending by 11th and 12th graders, who are closest to university entrance exams, actually increased by more than 3%.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education plans to announce additional measures later this month to reduce private education costs, based on these findings.

monarch@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Man-gi Reporter