Rights Watchdog Calls for Subsidies on Kindergarten Fees for Foreign Kids

This photo, taken on June 25, 2020, shows a kindergarten in Ansan, just south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The government needs to establish measures to subsidize kindergarten fees for children of foreign nationality residing in the country, the state human rights watchdog said Tuesday.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said it made this recommendation in response to a petition filed by a civic group, highlighting the infringement of the rights of a 4-year-old child of Kyrgyzstan nationality and a 5-year-old child with Russian nationality who were excluded from the list of subsidies for kindergarten fees.

The civic group emphasized that this exclusion violated their right to receive equal education and grow up healthily.

The Ministry of Education’s kindergarten fee subsidy program is originally designed to target only South Korean children aged from three to five who attend national, public, or private kindergartens.

However, the Child Welfare Law emphasizes non-discrimination based on race and place of birth for children and their parents.

The NHRCK stressed that the ministry’s subsidy program conflicts with the Child Welfare Act and infringes on the right to equality for foreign children.

The ministry claimed that the subject of educational rights is limited to Korean nationals and there is no legal basis to subsidize kindergarten fees for children with foreign nationalities. However, such claims were not accepted.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)