For one semester in middle school, the free learning semester, or FLS, eliminates tests and exams, cuts back on academic subjects, and introduces diverse interactive programs. The goal is to liberate students from the burden of exams and grades and allow them to explore their options and future career paths as well as further develop their creativity and social skills. The response has been highly positive thus far. However, having no exams for a whole semester, many have come to regard the FLS as a chance to focus on their advance learning, raising concerns that it is encouraging the demand for private tutoring. So, is this true? Using Statistics Korea’s Private Tutoring Expenditure Survey, KDI analyzed the impact of the FLS on private tutoring. Overall, although no significant changes were observed, discrepancies were found between different income levels. Indeed, there was an explicit increase in the participation in and expenditure on private tutoring among high-income households while no meaningful changes were found for middle to low income households, barring a slight decline. Then, has the private tutoring of students from high-income households really increased? An examination was first conducted to examine whether the rise in private tutoring during the implementation of the FLS was a mere coincidence, and whether the increase was driven by other factors. To rule out the connection between the timing of the FLS and increase in private tutoring, the effects of the FLS on the previous year’s trends in private tutoring were examined which revealed no relevant findings. This implied that the demand for private tutoring increased after the implementation of the FLS and not the other way round. Next, the same analysis was applied to high school students. This is because middle and high school students are similar in many aspects. As such, if there were any other driving factors aside from the FLS, similar results would be obtained for high school students who are irrelevant to the FLS. No meaningful results were found, however, implying that the increasing trend in private tutoring was most likely not driven by other factors. Finally, a comparison was made between different income levels in terms of participation. It was found that higher-income households sought private tutoring more for admissions and advance learning purposes while lower-income households found it was necessary for supplementary reasons. Consequently, having been freed from GPAs during the FLS, many of those who could afford it were increasing their expenditure on private tutoring, especially for advance learning. [Interview] If the Free Learning Semester does indeed prompt a rise in private-tutoring investment, mainly among the high-income group, it could inadvertently exacerbate the education gap between income groups even further. As such, efforts must be made to qualitatively enhance academic courses before expanding the FLS to cover the whole year. This would greatly contribute to easing parental concerns. After-school programs must also be strengthened to assure students from low-income households with sufficient educational opportunities. Although the FLS is a well-intended policy, careful consideration must be given to the fact that the resulting reduction in public education could widen the gap between the classes.