Local governments across the country are introducing policies to pay full tuition fees for college students from the regions. The idea is to ease the financial burden on parents and prevent population decline. However, as there are criticisms that they are a "pork-barrel policy," a national discussion is needed to go beyond this.

Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, announced on April 22, "We will collect citizens' opinions ahead of the implementation of the 'full college tuition support project' from next year." The project will provide university students who have graduated from local elementary, middle, and high schools with 50 to 100 percent of their actual tuition fees, excluding scholarships provided by the government and schools, depending on the length of their residency.

Those who have graduated from elementary, middle, and high schools and have been registered as residents of Gwangyang for more than seven years will receive 100 percent of the support. Gwangyang will introduce the program from the fourth year of college next year and then expand it year by year. As most of the local college students have attended elementary, middle, and high schools in the region, almost all of them are eligible for free tuition as long as they get a grade of B or higher.

In January, Jangseong-gun also provided tuition assistance worth 360 million won to more than 250 local university students for the first time. The county provides up to 2 million won per semester, excluding scholarships received from the government, schools, institutions, and companies.

College students are eligible to apply for the support if they get a grade of C or higher in the previous semester and their guardians have been living in Jangseong-gun for more than three years.

In the second half of last year, Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, launched a full tuition support project for seniors from local universities. It will be expanded to all graders by 2026. The city also provides 30 to 100 percent of the actual tuition fees, excluding various scholarships, depending on whether a student graduates from a local elementary, middle, or high school.

Local governments in Gangwon Province have introduced the free college tuition project the most in the country. Hwacheon-gun has provided full tuition, excluding scholarships, to local college students since 2019. A student can receive support if the guardian has lived in the county for at least three years based on the resident registration and gets a grade score of 2.5 or more for the previous semester.

Pyeongchang-gun also introduced a project to fully support tuition in 2022. If only one of the parents lives in the county, they are eligible for the support. Yanggu-gun supports full tuition fees for college students who have graduated from local elementary, middle, and high schools or whose parents have lived in the county for at least three years.