The leading presidential contender of the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday promised financial aid for low-income college students, in a move designed to garner support from young voters in the December presidential election.
Park Geun-hye said the government will try to provide students with tuition assistance according to their family's income levels, while ensuring students will not pay interest on student loans.
"I will support making sure college tuition will be practically free for low-income students," Park said at an elementary school in the southeastern city of Daegu as she unveiled her education policy.
Korean students have repeatedly called for slashing tuition costs in recent decades. Last year, thousands of students and civic activists rallied in Seoul to call for government measures to curb soaring tuition fees.
In February, South Korean universities cut annual tuitions by 4.5 percent on average this year, according to government data, caving in to domestic pressure to lighten the financial burdens on students.
the average tuition fee across 186 universities is 6.7 million won (about $5,800), down 4.48 percent from last year's average, according to the data compiled by the education ministry.
It is the first time the country's universities have lowered their tuition fees since 1948 when Korea came into being after World War II, according to the education ministry.
Park also pledged to revise the law to offer free education to high school students. She did not give a specific time frame for the revision.
Korea is famous for its education fervor, which helped transform the country into Asia's fourth-largest economy from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, but puts constant pressure on students and their families. (Yonhap)