Gyeonggi Office of Education to pay full labor costs among school meal expenses from 2026

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education said that the provincial office of education will pay full labor costs from next year among school meal expenses that have been shared with basic local governments.The

Provincial Office of Education made the decision in response to requests from some basic local governments to lower the share of school meal expenses, citing financial deterioration caused by lack of tax revenue.

However, considering the financial conditions, the provincial education office decided to pay 55.9 billion won, or half of the annual labor costs paid by basic local governments, next year and pay the full amount from 2026.

The school meal expenses support project, which has been in effect since 2010, is to share the school meal expenses paid by parents at a mutually agreed rate by the provincial education office, the Gyeonggi provincial office, and 31 basic local governments.

Even if the provincial education office pays the full labor cost of the meal expenses, the remaining food and operating expenses will be shared with local governments as they are.

This year's meal expenses are KRW 1.6253 trillion, and the share is KRW 833.9 billion (51.3%) from the provincial office of education, KRW 232 billion (14.3%) from the provincial government, and KRW 559.4 billion (34.4%) from basic local governments.

Superintendent Lim Tae-hee said, "We made the decision after actively accepting the opinions of basic local governments asking for adjustment of the ratio of food expenses due to the financial deterioration," adding, "The provincial office of education also has a financial burden due to lack of tax revenue, but it is a necessary decision for the healthy growth of students."