Seoul – The South Korean Ministry of Education announced on February 10th that it will reduce the number of public school teacher positions by 2,232 in 2025. This decision follows a legislative notice period that ran from January 31st to February 5th. The revised regulations will take effect on March 1st, 2025.
The reduction is primarily attributed to a decrease in the number of elementary and secondary school teachers, in line with the "Mid- to Long-Term Teacher Supply Plan" established in April 2023. According to the plan, the number of elementary school teachers will be reduced by 1,289, and the number of secondary school teachers will be reduced by 1,700.
However, these figures include temporary positions that were added to support students from low-income families and to accommodate school establishment and closures. Taking these factors into account, the actual reduction in elementary school teachers is 500, and the reduction in secondary school teachers is 1,307 (624 elementary and 683 secondary).
While the number of kindergarten teachers will remain frozen, the number of special education teachers will be increased by 520, and the number of non-teaching staff, such as counselors and librarians, will be increased by 237.
The Ministry of Education stated that it will "make efforts to secure an appropriate number of teachers by reflecting various educational demands such as the number of students per teacher, nurturing digital talents, guaranteeing basic academic skills, resolving overcrowded classes in new cities, and supporting small schools in rural areas."
Regarding the scale of new teacher recruitment, the ministry said that it will be determined by "comprehensively considering the retirement scale by region, transfers, leaves of absence, candidates waiting for appointment, and changes in the number of teachers." The ministry added that it will "cooperate with the metropolitan and provincial offices of education to ensure that an appropriate scale of recruitment is carried out."
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