Seoul, from September at the earliest, 3-year-olds also free education... 1.1711 trillion won in supplementary budget allocated

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has outlined a budget of 1.1711 billion won to expand the scope of free kindergarten education and improve school facilities, particularly focusing on the safety of 3-year-old children. If approved by the Seoul City Council, the funding will be implemented starting in September this year.

The budget allocation includes 111 billion won for 3-year-old children's free education and care, covering approximately 35,000 children in both public and private kindergartens or daycares. The government aims to gradually expand the scope of free education and care, with five to six-year-olds being included starting from March of this year.

In addition to existing subsidies, the program will cover costs such as school fees and daycare-related expenses that parents have been paying.

Most of the budget will be directed towards school infrastructure and safety, with 6,254 billion won allocated for this purpose. This includes 2,142 billion won to renovate toilets in 230 schools, 3,290 billion won for upgrading school heating, ventilation, air conditioning, window and electric installations, and strengthening security measures, and 560 billion won for improving school dining rooms and kitchen facilities.

The budget also includes 208 billion won to address minor hazards identified by schools, 45 billion won for installing CCTV cameras in school entrances, corridors, and stairways as required by the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and 22 billion won for supporting experiential learning. The budget also includes 137 billion won for school basic operating expenses to enable schools to run their own reading programs and 173 billion won for installing electronic chalkboards in Grade 6 and Grade 3 classrooms of elementary and middle schools.

The budget also includes 9 billion won for legal, psychological, and other support to address school weapon incidents, which will be implemented in the second half of next year and expanded to the regular budget starting in 2027.