Education minister Lee Ju-ho says he feels a heavy sense of responsibility over the fact that spending on private education for elementary, middle and high school students nationwide totaled a record 29-point-two trillion won last year, or about 20 billion U.S. dollars.

Lee made the remark on Friday during a meeting with the superintendents of the nation’s 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education. 

He said the findings in the 2024 Survey on Private Education Expenses for Elementary, Middle and High Schools failed to meet the people’s expectations. 

Lee then vowed to consistently pursue education reform steps that the ministry has been implementing to slash spending on private education and to work to ensure the outcomes of such reform efforts can be felt by the public. 

Lee said the ministry will implement this year a new policy under which it will operate self-learning support centers to help middle and high school students who reside in small rural towns or other areas where learning conditions outside of school are poor. 

Lee also vowed to establish a system, together with regions, to tackle private education as he stressed the need for metropolitan and provincial education offices to join in national efforts to help reduce spending on private education.