Seo Beom-soo "They said they would provide AI support to 120,000 underprivileged students... but the number of users is low."

The administration starts from the announcement and then looks at it in a fist-pumping manner... Come up with a supplementary plan

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Soo-yoon = The number of users of the '2026 Artificial Intelligence (AI) On-Eum Project', which supports vulnerable high school students in using paid artificial intelligence (AI) services, was found to be less than 10% of the original target.

According to data submitted by People Power Party lawmaker Seo Beom-soo, a member of the National Assembly Education Committee, from the Korea Scholarship Foundation on the 12th, the number of students who applied for the AI ​​On-Eum project and actually used the service was found to be 8,324 as of the end of September.

This project began last August when the Ministry of Education, together with the Korea Scholarship Foundation, allocated a special grant of 9.5 billion won in the supplementary budget, saying it would provide AI services free of charge to high school students in underprivileged areas such as underprivileged classes and rural areas.

The total number of support targets announced at the time was 120,000, but only less than one-tenth of the students used the service.

There were 314,674 students who met the application requirements, of which 68,040 students (21.6%) applied, 39,331 students (12.5%) received an account, and 8,324 students (2.6%) logged in at least once by the end of September.

According to Rep. Seo, the supplementary budget was confirmed in April, but the Ministry of Education's designation of entrustment to the Korea Scholarship Foundation was made in May, and the foundation's basic plan was established in June. The foundation only issued an emergency bidding notice on July 1, and the contract was signed on July 25.

Student applications were accepted from August 20th to 28th, but online advertisements were run only on the day of application.

Regarding the reason for the low number of applications from students, the foundation explained in a response submitted to the lawmaker's office, "It was inevitable as an emergency project after the supplementary budget was prepared."

In addition, Rep. Seo pointed out that regarding MindLogic, a generative AI startup selected as a contract company, "Sales in 2025 were 1.759 billion won, deficit for 3 consecutive years, cumulative deficit was 8.386 billion won, and credit rating was B0, the lowest level according to the foundation's evaluation standards," adding, "Company selection and verification were also lax."

As a result, only KRW 6.65 billion of the AI ​​On-Site project was contracted out of the budget of KRW 9.5 billion, and KRW 2.85 billion is scheduled to be returned. Since it is a pay-as-you-go contract in which the student only pays the contractor for what he or she actually used, the return amount may increase further.

Rep. Seo pointed out, "While the National Assembly used 9.5 billion won in special grants that were not reviewed on a project basis as a figure for presentation and returned 30%, the Ministry of Education did not take care of the results. This is an administration that only makes announcements first."

At the same time, he said, “The foundation must report the status of use by type, reasons for non-application, expected payment amount to the company, and supplementary measures before the comprehensive audit, and if there is no satisfactory answer, we will review the request for an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection.”

[Table] Application and use status compared to AI On-ium target (as of the end of September 2026)

Category Number of people (people) Announcement compared to requirements Target 120,000 students Targeted students (Type 1 + Type 2) 314,674 100% - Government announcement Support scale 120,000 38.1% 100% Application 68,040 21.6% 56.7% Account issuance 39,331 12.5% 32.8% Actual login 8,324 2.6% 6.9%

※ Source: Office of People Power Party Rep. Seo Beom-soo and Korea Scholarship Foundation. Of the 39,331 people whose accounts were issued, 26,982 were issued on September 30th.