Education superintendents voice concern over cuts to local education funding, ask opposition to block automatic referral

[Financial News] Superintendents of education from cities and provinces across the country voiced concern over the government's plan to overhaul local education finances and asked the opposition to carefully review the legislation. They sought to prevent bills accompanying the budget from being automatically referred to the National Assembly plenary session when designated at the end of November. The opposition leadership responded by considering alternative legislation to ensure autonomy in education finances.
The Korean Council of Superintendents of Education said on the 20th that it had held a meeting on the 19th with People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik and Lee In-seon, secretary of the National Assembly Education Committee, to discuss ways to ensure stable local education finances. Six regional superintendents, including Council Chair Jeong and those from Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Daegu, Ulsan and Sejong, attended.
At the meeting, opposition leaders expressed agreement on the need to secure education funding. Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik said, “I oppose the very introduction of the Future Response Fund,” and stressed the importance of investment in education. Lee In-seon, a member and secretary of the National Assembly Education Committee, also said, “We are considering introducing an alternative bill so that city and provincial superintendents can manage their funds autonomously in line with needs on the ground.”
The superintendents went to the opposition because they feared that the government's amendment to the Local Education Finance Grant Act and bills related to the Future Response Fund could be passed without sufficient discussion by being tied to the budget. If the bills currently pending in the National Assembly are designated as bills accompanying the budget, they will automatically be referred to the National Assembly plenary session on December 1 if committee review is not completed by November 30.
Given the significance of the issue, which would change the foundations of local education finance, the council urged that the bills be excluded from automatic referral through an agreement between the National Assembly Speaker and the leaders of each parliamentary negotiating group.
Council Chair Jeong Geun-sik stressed, “The local education finance grant is a key source of funding that supports students’ educational activities nationwide and narrows education gaps between regions. Rather than cutting education budgets simply because student numbers are declining, we should maintain a stable financial foundation in step with changes in the future education environment.”

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter