Lee wants college restructuring ahead of state support: aide

SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak believes that universities and colleges should first be restructured before the government provides them with financial support to help lower tuitions, a senior official said Tuesday.
The remark is in line with Lee's negative stance on calls for drastically slashing tuitions, in contrast to the rival parties' push for what is dubbed the "half-priced tuition" policy to woo voters ahead of next year's general and presidential elections.
Lee has called for a careful approach to the issue that would take an enormous budget to implement. Last Friday, Lee made his opposition clear, saying it is impossible to halve tuition fees and criticizing the education minister for failing to properly handle the issue.
Some ruling party lawmakers have also called for restructuring colleges, voicing concern that an equal provision of funds to universities would result in helping keep uncompetitive, near-bankrupt schools afloat.
"The principle that President Lee Myung-bak has on this issue is restructuring first and beefing up tuition (funds) later," a senior presidential official said on customary condition of anonymity.
The tuition issue is among six agenda items that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) have agreed to take up at talks between Lee and DP leader Sohn Hak-kyu next week.
jschang@yna.co.kr