The government will conduct a full survey of uniform prices at middle and high schools nationwide to rein in costly school uniforms. It plans to lower the burden on parents by guiding the phaseout of suit-style uniforms that students do not actually wear often. It will also carry out a special inspection of private education costs to curb the upward trend.
On the 26th, the government announced the "plan to improve and strengthen management of uniform prices and private academy fees." Seol Se-hoon, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Education, said, "There is a program to support uniform costs, but parents still have to buy casual uniforms and PE uniforms separately, and unit prices are high, so the burden they feel is significant," and noted, "Issues such as bid collusion and declining quality are being raised continuously."
The Ministry of Education will conduct a full survey through Feb. 16 of 5,700 middle and high schools nationwide on the unit price by item and selected vendors for suit-style uniforms, casual uniforms, and PE uniforms. Based on this, it plans to set item-by-item price caps, including for casual uniforms, in the first half of this year. Currently, the government sets price caps only for suit-style uniforms. This year's cap is 344,530 won.
The government will also encourage the phaseout of suit-style uniforms. In cooperation with municipal and provincial offices of education, it will recommend switching from suit-style to more activity-friendly uniforms such as casual or PE uniforms. Some items, such as shirts and pants, will be allowed to be replaced with similar off-the-shelf products. For the 13 municipalities and provinces that provide suit-style uniforms in kind, it will recommend switching to cash or voucher support.
Consumer choice will also be expanded. The government will promote the participation of producer cooperatives made up of local small business owners in bidding and award extra points in evaluations. It will also support consulting for the creation of joint brands.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission will analyze the distribution structure, prices, and types of unfair practices of four uniform brands to prepare improvement measures. Through March, it will run a focused reporting period to collect online and offline tips on suspected bid collusion and other signs. If collusion is detected, it plans to conduct on-site inspections and refer cases for investigation. It is also considering sanctions such as restricting bid eligibility or imposing a penalty surcharge.
The government will also launch a special inspection of private education expenses. It will crack down on practices such as charging more than the lesson fees registered and reported to superintendents, counting self-study time as lesson time to collect fees, and excessively charging for other expenses such as mock exam fees and transportation fees. Academies whose registered lesson fees are in the top 10% and those with high lesson fee growth rates over the past five years will be prioritized for inspection.
The government will also accept public tips on illegal private education and, if necessary, conduct on-site inspections in parallel. It will introduce a penalty surcharge to recover unjust gains from illegal acts and push to raise the surcharge from 3 million won to 10 million won.