"Building Small but Strong Local Universities"... Up to 25 Billion Won Support for Specialization Project

Ministry of Education to Provide Up to 5 Billion Won per Year for Five Years
Interim Evaluation and Post-Project Inspections for Performance Management
Regional Project Briefings to Be Held; Basic Plan to Be Finalized

This year, the Ministry of Education will fully implement the “Local University Specialization Leading University Development Project,” with a budget of 85 billion won.

According to the Ministry of Education on June 17, this project was newly established to respond to changes in the environment surrounding local universities, such as the declining school-age population and the restructuring of the industrial landscape around artificial intelligence (AI). Specialization support funding (an incentive of 85 billion won) was newly included within the University Innovation Support Project.

Kyojin Choi, Minister of Education Photo by Yonhap News

The Ministry of Education will select approximately 15 local private universities and provide each university with about 5 billion won per year for up to five years to help them establish their own specialization models. To ensure there are no obstacles to specialization efforts, regulatory exceptions will be applied through the designation of Higher Education Innovation Specialized Zones.

Participation requirements include: ▲ A reduction of at least 3% in each university’s admissions quota by the 2030 academic year ▲ Mandatory restructuring of departments centered on specialized fields (such as majors, colleges, etc.). Each university will autonomously determine and pursue its specialization direction, focusing on areas of strength such as ▲ role and function adjustment between universities ▲ digital transformation specialization ▲ university-driven specialization.

Leading specialized universities will be selected based on an evaluation of each university’s specialization plan (75%) and a qualitative assessment of the University Innovation Support Project (25%).

To manage project performance, an interim evaluation will be conducted two years later. Universities with insufficient results according to the interim assessment will be excluded from further support. After the financial support ends in 2030, project implementation results will be checked annually for five years. If the budget is used for purposes other than the project, a penalty surcharge of up to five times the project funds in addition to a clawback will be imposed.

The Ministry of Education plans to hold project briefings in four non-metropolitan regions and finalize the basic plan at the end of this month after gathering on-site feedback from universities and other stakeholders.

Kyo-jin Choi, Minister of Education, stated, "Through this project, which is promoted in line with the national balanced growth strategy, we will ensure that local private universities become a true starting point for region-led growth and a turning point for the future of higher education."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.