South Korea to offer free education, childcare for 5-year-olds

South Korea will begin offering free education and childcare to all five-year-olds by subsidising pre-school institutions from July, marking a significant step in the country's plan to make pre-schoolers' education universally accessible by 2027.

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SEOUL -

The Ministry of Education announced on July 29 that the Cabinet approved a 128.9 billion won (S$120 million) expenditure to cover the second half of the year. It aims to support approximately 278,000 children aged five who are enrolled in either kindergartens or daycare centres nationwide.

This funding is part of a broader push to gradually expand free education and care to children aged four in 2026 and to all kids aged between three and five by 2027, in line with President Lee Jae Myung's campaign pledge to increase state responsibility for early childhood education.

Since 2013, South Korea has implemented a unified early childhood curriculum for children aged three to five and has offered partial financial support for tuition and care. However, parents have continued to shoulder out-of-pocket costs due to institutional disparities, particularly between public and private facilities.