ID :
190656
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 12:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190656
The shortlink copeid
Ruling party unveils massive blueprint to lower college tuitions
(ATTN: CHANGES slug, headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with GNP announcement, other details)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) on Thursday unveiled a 6.8 trillion won (US$6.3 billion) blueprint for lowering college tuition fees, pledging to push for a 30 percent cut from the current levels by 2014.
But the government played down the massive spending plan as just a GNP proposal.
Officials at the finance ministry and the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the government and the ruling party discussed the party's proposal and other measures to lower tuition fees, but no final agreement was reached and further talks are necessary.
GNP floor leader Hwang Woo-yea said the party will press the government to accept its plan.
The announcement reflects how desperately the unpopular party is trying to woo voters ahead of next year's parliamentary and presidential elections. It also appears to be a GNP attempt to grab initiative on the issue before opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu discusses the matter with President Lee Myung-bak at a meeting Monday.
The GNP plan calls for the government to provide universities with 1.5 trillion won in 2012, 2.3 trillion won in 2013 and 3 trillion won in 2014 to help them lower tuitions, while universities raise 500 billion won each year for scholarship programs for students from low-income households.
These measures would bring down average tuition fees by at least 30 percent, party officials said.
The GNP plan also calls for restructuring universities and colleges as well as a variety of incentives for schools that freeze tuition costs in the next two years.
Shortly after the party unveiled the plan, the finance ministry called an emergency press briefing and said the party's proposal needs "more consultation," though it said it largely agrees on the need of curbing tuition fees.
"The ministry is consulting (with the GNP), but we have not yet reached an agreement," ministry spokesman Bang Moon-kyu said.
"The final amount of budget can be confirmed only after an agreement on specific plans is made," Bang said, adding the education ministry shares the same view on the issue.
President Lee Myung-bak holds a negative stance on what has been dubbed the "half-priced tuition" push. He has called for a careful approach to the issue that would take an enormous budget to implement and said last week that it is impossible to halve tuition fees.
After the GNP's announcement, Lee's senior spokesman, Kim Du-woo, downplayed it.
"It was not discussed in advanced" with the presidential office, Kim said. "No final agreement has been made in the government as well. The position of the finance ministry is different from that of the party, and the education ministry's position is also a little different from the party."
Kim said it will "take some time to coordinate" the differing positions.
"The ruling party also said that it is not a final agreement. I think the ruling party is free to put forward its proposal," he said. "This is an issue that GNP floor leader Hwang Woo-yea first raised, and it is pretty much understandable that he wants to put forward a solution."
Presidential officials said they would continue discussions with the government and the party.
Earlier, another presidential official expressed displeasure, saying that the party should have waited to see how Lee's planned meeting with opposition leader Sohn would go on the issue.
The GNP's blueprint came about one month after the conservative party vowed to make the college tuition issue its top policy priority as the beleaguered party mulls a package of welfare measures to woo voters ahead of next year's elections.
It has since become one of the hottest issues in South Korea, with students holding street protests amid criticism that the rival parties are seeking populist policies without enough consideration for the impact such policies would have on the country.
For next year's budget plan to take effect, it has to pass through the National Assembly's full session, which is set to begin in August.
In South Korea, 80 percent of higher education institutions are operated by private foundations that rely heavily on tuition fees for revenue.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) on Thursday unveiled a 6.8 trillion won (US$6.3 billion) blueprint for lowering college tuition fees, pledging to push for a 30 percent cut from the current levels by 2014.
But the government played down the massive spending plan as just a GNP proposal.
Officials at the finance ministry and the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the government and the ruling party discussed the party's proposal and other measures to lower tuition fees, but no final agreement was reached and further talks are necessary.
GNP floor leader Hwang Woo-yea said the party will press the government to accept its plan.
The announcement reflects how desperately the unpopular party is trying to woo voters ahead of next year's parliamentary and presidential elections. It also appears to be a GNP attempt to grab initiative on the issue before opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu discusses the matter with President Lee Myung-bak at a meeting Monday.
The GNP plan calls for the government to provide universities with 1.5 trillion won in 2012, 2.3 trillion won in 2013 and 3 trillion won in 2014 to help them lower tuitions, while universities raise 500 billion won each year for scholarship programs for students from low-income households.
These measures would bring down average tuition fees by at least 30 percent, party officials said.
The GNP plan also calls for restructuring universities and colleges as well as a variety of incentives for schools that freeze tuition costs in the next two years.
Shortly after the party unveiled the plan, the finance ministry called an emergency press briefing and said the party's proposal needs "more consultation," though it said it largely agrees on the need of curbing tuition fees.
"The ministry is consulting (with the GNP), but we have not yet reached an agreement," ministry spokesman Bang Moon-kyu said.
"The final amount of budget can be confirmed only after an agreement on specific plans is made," Bang said, adding the education ministry shares the same view on the issue.
President Lee Myung-bak holds a negative stance on what has been dubbed the "half-priced tuition" push. He has called for a careful approach to the issue that would take an enormous budget to implement and said last week that it is impossible to halve tuition fees.
After the GNP's announcement, Lee's senior spokesman, Kim Du-woo, downplayed it.
"It was not discussed in advanced" with the presidential office, Kim said. "No final agreement has been made in the government as well. The position of the finance ministry is different from that of the party, and the education ministry's position is also a little different from the party."
Kim said it will "take some time to coordinate" the differing positions.
"The ruling party also said that it is not a final agreement. I think the ruling party is free to put forward its proposal," he said. "This is an issue that GNP floor leader Hwang Woo-yea first raised, and it is pretty much understandable that he wants to put forward a solution."
Presidential officials said they would continue discussions with the government and the party.
Earlier, another presidential official expressed displeasure, saying that the party should have waited to see how Lee's planned meeting with opposition leader Sohn would go on the issue.
The GNP's blueprint came about one month after the conservative party vowed to make the college tuition issue its top policy priority as the beleaguered party mulls a package of welfare measures to woo voters ahead of next year's elections.
It has since become one of the hottest issues in South Korea, with students holding street protests amid criticism that the rival parties are seeking populist policies without enough consideration for the impact such policies would have on the country.
For next year's budget plan to take effect, it has to pass through the National Assembly's full session, which is set to begin in August.
In South Korea, 80 percent of higher education institutions are operated by private foundations that rely heavily on tuition fees for revenue.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
