By Kang Shin-who

Rules on conditions for the establishment of foreign education institutes in free economic zones (FEZs) and the Jeju International Free City will be eased to attract more foreign schools.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced revised bills Tuesday to ease regulations regarding school facilities and teacher requirements in obtaining school licenses from the government. The new criteria are expected to become effective from the end of the year, the ministry said.

Foreign elementary and secondary schools along with colleges in these special zones will not have to meet a set of rules applied to Korean schools.

First of all, facility regulations for international schools in the zones will be eased. So far, the ministry has required foreign colleges to construct a building to accommodate at least 1,000 students, but the minimum number will be cut to 400. Likewise, requirements to build certain facilities for elementary and secondary schools will be eased, the ministry said.

In addition, kindergarten to high schools in the free economic zones will also face easier rules than those applied to Korean schools.

"In the past, we have requested international schools in the zones to secure a certain number of teachers in some subjects which are not in their curricula as Korean schools have to. This will help the schools freely run their own curricula," said Ahn Joon-mo, official of the ministry.

However, these eased regulations will not help foreign schools located outside of the special zones.

Under the current education regulations, foreign schools are allowed to admit Korean students who have lived overseas for more than three years, as long as their enrollment does not exceed 50 percent of the total, while those in the FEZ can admit Korean students numbering up to 30 percent of the total admission quota.

Also unlike other foreign schools, international schools in FEZs are permitted to enroll Korean nationals who have not lived overseas. One of the schools is Chadwick International School Songdo in Incheon.