저소득층은 정말 대학 무상교육을 반대하는가?: 소득효과와 연령효과의 재조명 = Does the Low-Income Class Truly Oppose Free University Education?: Revisiting Income and Age Effects

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study empirically examines the “opposition from low-income groups”―a major impediment to public discourse on free higher education in South Korea―and identifies the multidimensional and structural factors shaping public attitudes toward this policy. Using five waves of the Welfare Perception Supplemental Survey from the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KWPS) spanning from 2009 to 2021, the study employs a random-effects logit model followed by an Age-Period-Cohort-Interaction (APC-I) model. The findings are threefold. First, after controlling for unobserved individual heterogeneity and other covariates, low-income households exhibited significant support for free higher education. The superficially observed opposition among this demographic was revealed to be a statistical illusion driven by the high proportion of elderly individuals within the low-income population. Second, decomposing the time dimensions via the APC-I model revealed a pure “age effect”-where support declines with age along the life course-alongside a distinct “cohort effect,” demonstrating that more recent cohorts increasingly demand state responsibility for higher education costs. Third, a robust “period effect” emerged following the institutionalization of the National Scholarship Program in 2012, characterized by a sharp rise in support for free higher education that transcends traditional political ideologies. This finding offers strong empirical evidence for policy feedback theory, illustrating how the introduction and expansion of specific welfare programs can dynamically reconstruct public attitudes. In conclusion, this study dispels the entrenched societal myth and political misconception that low-income groups oppose free higher education. It demonstrates that the public support base for universal higher education is gradually expanding, propelled by policy feedback and cohort replacement. These findings offer crucial theoretical and practical implications for reigniting public discourse on free higher education and restoring democratic equality in the South Korean educational system.