South Korea's income-contingent student loan (ICL) from the Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF): repayment is deferred below the income threshold, and certain groups receive full interest exemption while enrolled. 2026 figures.
Exact eligibility is updated annually by KOSAF and the Korean Ministry of Education — confirm directly on the KOSAF portal.
Disclaimer: This page summarizes publicly available 2026 Korean KOSAF / Ministry of Education information for reference. The Korean repayment threshold, interest rate, and exemption criteria are revised annually, and individual repayment depends on income type, dependents, and prior payments. Verify final figures with KOSAF (www.kosaf.go.kr) and the Korean NTS. This site is a privately operated information resource and is not affiliated with any Korean government or public agency.
The Income-Contingent Loan (ICL) is a Korean student loan product operated by KOSAF (Korea Student Aid Foundation). Repayment is deferred during enrollment; post-graduation, you repay a fraction of income only when annual income exceeds a government-set threshold.
The 2026 Korean repayment threshold is about 23.6M KRW per year for employees (updated annually by the Korean Ministry of Education). Roughly 20% of income above the threshold is the annual obligation, collected automatically through Korean National Tax Service data. Below the threshold, repayment pauses.
1. Apply for ICL via KOSAF and receive the Korean loan disbursement.
2. No repayment during enrollment. Interest may accrue unless you qualify for Korean exemption.
3. Post-graduation, obligation is auto-assessed once Korean annual income exceeds the threshold.
4. Repayment pauses again if income drops below threshold. Voluntary prepayment is possible.
It is set annually by the Korean Ministry of Education. For 2026, the employee threshold is about 23.6M KRW. Self-employed and comprehensive income use different bases — check KOSAF for the exact figure.
Below the Korean threshold, repayment is auto-deferred. Interest still accrues for non-exempt borrowers, so voluntary prepayment may save money.
Yes, unless you qualify for Korean basic-livelihood / near-poverty / multi-child exemptions in 2026. KOSAF confirms eligibility case-by-case.
Regular loans have fixed repayment schedules; ICL ties repayment to income, which is safer for Korean graduates with unstable or low post-graduation income.
Since Korean NTS data drives assessment, there is up to a 1-year lag. You may request a re-assessment through KOSAF for hardship cases.
Korea's Income-Contingent Student Loan (ICL), operated by the Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF), is one of the country's main undergraduate loan products. Repayment begins only when annual income exceeds the Korean government-set threshold (about 23.6M KRW for employees in 2026).
Korean basic-livelihood recipients, near-poverty households, and multi-child families continue to receive full interest exemption during enrollment in 2026. Other groups may qualify for partial interest reduction based on annual KOSAF / Korean Ministry of Education notices.
Post-graduation repayment is automated through Korean National Tax Service (NTS) data: roughly 20% of income above the threshold is collected annually; below the threshold, payments pause. This page provides official Korean site links and a summary — final figures must be confirmed with KOSAF.