Quota of Korean students in foreign schools rises to 50 percent

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- International schools in South Korea will be allowed
to increase their admission quota of Korean students to half starting this year
under the local government's deregulatory drive, the education ministry said
Wednesday.

At present, the quota of Korean students at 46 foreign schools nationwide is set
at 30 percent.
The new quota will take effect next week, as the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday
ratified a new law governing the establishment and management of foreign schools
in South Korea, said the ministry.
Under the new law, which will replace the existing government directives, all
Korean students who have lived abroad for over three years will be eligible to
apply for foreign schools in South Korea. Currently, the minimum overseas
residence period for the Korean applicants for local foreign schools is set at
five years.
The government will also ease regulations on the establishment of foreign schools
here, allowing non-profit foreign entities and South Korea's private school
foundations to set up foreign schools. At present, only foreigners are permitted
to establish foreign schools here.
The new law also obliges the central and provincial governments to lease out land
and buildings to foreign school founders.
In addition, the government will ease rules on Korean graduates of foreign
schools here by allowing them to directly apply for Korean colleges and
universities, as long as they attend Korean language, history and social studies
classes for over 102 hours annually. Currently, Korean graduates of foreign
schools here are not eligible to enter domestic universities and colleges.
As of last September, about 10,989 students were enrolled at 46 foreign schools
nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting has also approved a bill calling for filling more
than 1 percent of lower-ranking government positions with applicants the from
lower-income bracket.
A bill that requires high-ranking female government officials to make public
their parents' assets, instead of assets of their parents-in-law, was also
approved by the Cabinet meeting, according to the public administration ministry.
Under the current law, all ranking civil servants in South Korea are obliged to
annually disclose their family wealth under the government's campaign to heighten
public sector transparency.
brk@yna.co.kr
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