Lee calls for calm approach to college tuition issue

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak instructed the government Monday not to rush to come up with measures to lower college tuitions, saying that hastily made policies could devastate the country, according to the presidential spokesman.
The remark was seen as a warning that solutions to the tuition issue could involve an enormous amount of money and that the government and the ruling party should guard against making populist policies just to calm intensifying calls for lower tuitions ahead of major elections next year.
The government "should take time in a calm manner" to study solutions to the issue, Lee told senior presidential secretaries in a regular meeting, according to presidential spokesman Park Jung-ha.
"If the government creates misguided policies, it could rock the country," Lee said.
High college tuitions have been a top social and political issue in South Korea in recent weeks, with students holding near daily demonstrations to call for government measures to lower tuitions. Thousands of students and civic activists rallied in central Seoul last Friday.
The ruling and opposition parties have promised to help reduce tuitions, but are divided over how to finance a cut, which would involve a massive sum of money.
jschang@yna.co.kr