▲The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended in its "2026 Korea Economic Survey" released Wednesday that government support for elementary, middle and high schools be gradually reduced, while pointing out that government support for university education is insufficient. The recommendation highlighted the problems with the internal tax-linked system of the local education finance grant, which was introduced in 1972 and has remained unchanged for more than 50 years. The government has also moved to reform the grant system, which is mechanically distributed even amid a sharp decline in the school-age population. However, the education sector is pushing back, saying it "completely fails to understand the actual operating structure of school sites." Since even the OECD has pointed this out, the grant reform must be carried out this time.
▲June consumer prices rose 3.2 percent. Petroleum prices continued their upward trend and the prices of summer agricultural, livestock and fisheries products also rose, pushing inflation above the 3 percent range for a second consecutive month. Yet the measures that came out of the vice-ministerial price-related meeting on Wednesday were little different from last month, emphasizing only that the petroleum price cap lowered the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage points. Price controls may be keeping petroleum product prices in check, but what about agricultural product prices, which are surging due to the monsoon rains and heat waves? The government should not highlight only the effects of price controls but instead present bold price management measures.
