[The Hankyoreh, September 19 2007] Competition surges in private education market

Gov't slow to produce measures to combat negative side effects

Competition is intensifying in the nation's online education sector aimed at middle and high school students, as regional and smaller institutes are joining hands to accelerate their drive to be a market leader.

On Sept. 18, Time Education Holdings, a joint venture among five private educational institutes including Chungsan and Hakrim, said that it has succeeded in luring 60 billion won (US$65 million) from an investment company to fund its online education business expansion. The move seemed to be targeting the rise of Megastudy, a market powerhouse, which has expanded its clout even into the online education sector. Choi Won-guk, the head of Chungsan said, "We decided to join hands, considering the rapid growth of the online private education sector...We will provide differentiated services from Megastudy."