Parliament passes free high school education bill

SEOUL. KAZINFORM - South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed revised bills that provide the grounds for free high school education, Yonhap reports.

With the passage of the bill, the second and third grades of high school will be free starting in 2020 before being expanded to all grades in 2021.

The education ministry in June said it will gradually introduce free education to ease family's financial burden and guarantee the basic right to education.

As of June, high school students paid 1.58 million won (US$1,358) on average per year to their schools for admission fees, tuition and other costs.

The ministry estimates that the free education will cost the government 1.99 trillion won per year in 2021.