The government will expand the PC and laptop purchase support program for low-income households. It will also increase the scale of providing, free of charge, PCs that the central government has used for five years, by refurbishing them instead of discarding them and supplying them to community centers and libraries. As so-called "chipflation" (semiconductors + inflation) has pushed up consumer prices for PCs and laptops, the government unveiled these measures, saying it aims to ease concerns about a "digital divide" among vulnerable groups.
Relevant ministries held a "task force (TF) meeting of Ministers on special management of consumer prices" on the 9th and announced these measures. According to the government, in February and March, the consumer price index for computers rose 10.8% and 12.4%, respectively, from a year earlier.
First, the government plans to expand the PC and laptop purchase support program for students in low-income households. Under the program, for students in households at 50% to 80% of the standard median income or below, the offices of education purchase PCs and laptops directly and provide them to students. The current per-person support unit price is 1,042,000 won, and the government will raise this benchmark to increase the subsidy. A total of 12.1 billion won from metropolitan and provincial offices of education budgets is being used each year to support 11,000 people in vulnerable groups.
A government official said, "Once the extra budget is finalized, we will induce the formation of a supplementary budget so that the offices of education can provide sufficient support by using the increased portion of the grant-in-aid (earmarked tax) for educational finance (4.8 trillion won)."
When a PC used by the central government exceeds a useful life of five years, the government plans to refurbish it instead of discarding it and provide it to vulnerable groups. Although about one-quarter of the 80,000 units that pass their useful life each year are already being refurbished, the government will further increase that ratio. They are mainly donated free of charge to local governments that carry out the "Green PCs of Love" and "AI digital learning center" programs.
In addition, the government will push to examine conditions in the DRAM and PC and laptop markets, and, if it detects abnormal signs, it will investigate for legal violations and take stern action.