Free meals for elementary and middle school students is becoming a major issue ahead of the June regional elections. Following free meal pledges by some education superintendent candidates, candidates running for local government leadership positions for the Democratic Party (DP) and other opposition parties, and even some ruling party candidates, have likewise begun making pledges.

This rapid turnaround in the situation, less than one year after Gyeonggi Province educational superintendent Kim Sang-gon failed to follow through on his free meal pledge due to interference by the provincial governor and council, owes itself to a large degree of popular support for the issue. Free meals for students enjoy such universal favor that over 90 percent of Gyeonggi Province residents expressed their support in a questionnaire conducted at the time of the free meal flap.

Some observers are citing this factor alone in criticizing the free meal pledges as being rooted in populism. The critics are calling it irresponsible to make such pledges without considering the funding source, given that universal free meals for elementary and middle school students nationwide would require an annual budget of 1.8 trillion Won ($1.6 billion USD). No different are the views of President Lee Myung-bak and the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), who are pulling the brakes on free meal promises, citing financial issues.

However, an analysis by School Meal Network of 2009 meal-related budgets for the offices of education in 16 cities and provinces nationwide shows that claims about the financial infeasibility of free meals do not hold water. The regional government with the largest free meal budget, totaling 21.1 billion Won ($19 million USD), is that of North Jeolla Province, which is among the lowest ranked in financial self-reliance. The regional government with the highest degree of financial self-reliance, Seoul, and other similarly high-ranked big cities like Incheon, Daegu and Ulsan do not allot a cent to free meals. North Jeolla also has the highest per capita school meal support, while Seoul ranks next to last, after Ulsan.

This shows that the feasibility of free meals depends not on the presence of financial resources but on the determination of local government heads. For instance, the city of Seoul, while so stingy with its support for meals, has poured around 8 trillion Won over the last four years into plans for beautifying the city like “Design Seoul” and the “Han River Renaissance.” It would only take one fifth of this budget to provide free meals to every elementary and middle school student in Seoul.

In any case, the free meal issue will be difficult to sidestep in the upcoming regional government elections. It is now time for the people of South Korea to make a decision about which comes first: providing universal educational welfare to the next generation or turning the entire country into a construction site.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]