South Korea Cuts All Funding for National AI Education Center
South Korea's 2027 budget bill omits the 3 billion won earmarked for a National AI Education Research Center, prompting industry and academia to demand its restoration.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesSouth Korea's government has left out the entire 3 billion won (about $2 million) planned for a National AI Education Research Center in its 2027 budget proposal, according to lawmakers and industry sources. Industry and academic figures are now calling on the National Assembly to restore the money.
The funding was meant to set up and run a center for medium- to long-term research on how AI affects education. That differs from the one- and three-year studies typically carried out by the Education Ministry's affiliated bodies, such as the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS). The aim is to determine what kind of education suits elementary, middle and high schools and universities, now that AI tools are widely used at school and at home.
Why the project mattered
The National AI Strategy Committee had recommended the project as part of building a public-private research framework for AI education policy, one of the 99 tasks in the country's AI Action Plan. Industry and academia also link it to the Lee Jae-myung administration's national agenda item on training future talent for the AI and digital era. According to reports, the Ministry of Planning and Budget cut the sum entirely during interagency talks, citing possible overlap with other work.
Short-term studies on the effects of AI in classrooms are already under way at education colleges and graduate schools. Experts argue that a separate body is still needed to shape long-term policy.
Critics push back
The head of one edtech company said neither the Education Ministry nor the National Education Commission is currently deliberating on curricula suited to the AI era, and that the cut contradicts President Lee's own remarks on reviewing AI-related curriculum changes. Another industry official questioned why the budget allocates more than 10 trillion won to promoting AI technology and industry while removing the minimum needed to train future talent.
Lee Min-seok, head of the education subcommittee at the National AI Strategy Committee and a professor at Konkuk University, said objectively verifying AI's effect on learning and cognitive development requires long-term longitudinal studies, and that a dedicated institution should conduct them. Democratic Party lawmaker Im Mun-young, who led drafting of the AI Action Plan, said a dedicated think tank is needed to discuss the role of schools and the education system.
The budget now goes through National Assembly deliberation, where supporters want the funding revived and increased.
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