‘Creating Ten Seoul National Universities’: A Bold Plan to Transform Korean Higher Education

The Korean government’s “Creating Ten Seoul National Universities” initiative is drawing attention as a key strategy to ease the concentration of higher education in the capital region and to promote balanced national development. The plan aims to foster nine flagship national universities across the country—including Pusan National University (PNU)—into research-oriented institutions on par with Seoul National University (SNU), thereby reshaping the Seoul-centered higher education system. “Channel PNU” examined the background of this highly debated policy and explored its expected impact.

On September 17th, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that it would officially move forward with the “Creating Ten Seoul National Universities” initiative as one of six national education goals under the Lee Jae-Myung administration. The idea was first proposed in 2021 in a book ‘Creating Ten Seoul National Universities’ by Kim Jong-Young (Prof. of Sociology, Kyung Hee University), and was later adopted as a pledge of the Democratic Party of Korea in the 22nd general election and as a campaign promise of President Lee in the 21st presidential election, and was eventually finalized as a national policy task. At a meeting with provincial governors on August 3rd, President Lee said, “The capital region’s dominance is not just an issue of imbalance but a structural threat to the nation’s survival,” stressing that “balanced development is not a favor to local areas but a vital strategy for the sustainability of Korean society as a whole.”

According to a press release issued by the MOE that day, the government plans to gradually and strategically raise per-student education spending at flagship national universities to the level of SNU to support their strategic investment and systematic development, while strengthening educational and research competitiveness in priority fields. In addition, a new “National Distinguished Professor” system will be introduced, allowing the appointment of top scholars recognized as leading authorities in their academic fields at national, public, and private universities without the current mandatory retirement age limit of 65, with guaranteed support for world-class research activities.

The government also plans to restructure the “RISE” (Regional Innovation System & Education) framework. In line with the reorganization of the Five Megaregions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces administrative system, the MOE announced that it will establish a wide-area governance model and further enhance collaboration among regional universities in areas such as curricula, faculty, research equipment, and facilities. Through this, the MOE aims to strengthen cooperation between local governments and universities, while simultaneously pursuing higher education reforms by guiding underperforming private universities toward appropriate downsizing and functional transformation.

■ Addressing the Bottleneck of the SKY Universities

The “Creating Ten Seoul National Universities” initiative stems from what many see as the most structural problem in Korean higher education: the bottleneck created by a handful of elite universities. Educational resources and talent are concentrated in top-tier institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area, represented by the so-called SKY universities—Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University—while regional universities are left in decline. Within this imbalance, competition for admission has become increasingly fierce, private education costs have soared, and the twin crises of metropolitan overpopulation and regional decline have accelerated. Choi Sung-Soo (Prof. of Sociology, Yonsei University) noted, “The policy to create ten Seoul National Universities highlights the imbalance between Seoul and regional areas, particularly in education, and I believe this concern is one that everyone can agree on.”

The gap between SNU and the flagship national universities is evident across several indicators, including per-student education spending, research funding, and the number of full-time faculty members. According to Academyinfo (University Information Public Announcement System) SNU’s per-student education expenditure reached approximately 60.59 million won in 2023, while the average among the nine flagship national universities stood at around 24 million won. PNU recorded a slightly higher figure at 26.02 million won. The disparity is also pronounced in research funding. In 2023, SNU received about 734.1 billion won in total research funding from both internal and external sources, compared to roughly 220 billion won for PNU. In terms of research-active full-time faculty, SNU counted 2,334 professors, whereas PNU had 1,446. Commenting on this, Yeom Min-Ho (Prof. of Education, Chonnam National University) noted, “The fundamental academic capacity of students and research capabilities of professors at flagship national universities are strong and not significantly different from those at metropolitan institutions. However, the government’s level of investment in regional universities remains far lower than that for SNU.”

This educational imbalance is closely tied to the capital region–centered growth strategy. As economic, political, and cultural infrastructure has become concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, the provinces have been increasingly marginalized, and regional universities have seen their role as higher education institutions weaken. Prof. Choi pointed out that the rapid expansion of higher education has led to the exclusion of regional universities and junior colleges, analyzing that “higher education policies focused on quantitative growth without institutional reforms have only deepened the structural imbalance.”

The government has long attempted to address the widening gap between universities in the Seoul metropolitan area and those in the provinces by reforming admission systems, including adjusting the ratio of early and regular admissions, simplifying the entrance process, and expanding the high school credit system. However, Prof. Kim argued that such measures have done little to tackle the root cause of the bottleneck, instead merely shifting the direction of competition.

In contrast, the “Creating Ten Seoul National Universities” initiative goes beyond simple admission system reforms, representing a decision to fundamentally restructure the hierarchy and organization of universities. In his book, Prof. Kim argued, “The biggest problem in Korean education is that there is only one ‘highway’ leading to SKY universities. We need to expand this highway to ten to resolve the bottleneck caused by everyone crowding onto the single path to SKY.” In other words, the policy aims to distribute the educational resources and opportunities concentrated at SNU across nine flagship national universities, thereby expanding the quality and accessibility of higher education nationwide.

Prof. Yeom explained, “Flagship national universities already have students and faculty with proven foundational capabilities. If these universities receive financial investment at the level of SNU, it would not only improve overall educational quality but also enable job creation linked to local industries, eliminating the need for provincial students to move to the metropolitan area.” He added, “The ‘Creating Ten Seoul National Universities’ initiative could serve as a key not just for education, but for a comprehensive reorganization of the nation’s talent distribution and industrial structure.”

■ Expectations and Concerns for Balanced Development

The “Creating Ten Seoul National Universities” initiative also stands out for its structural differences from existing policies. While previous programs such as “Glocal University 30” or “RISE” followed a competitive model, offering opportunities to all regional universities, the current policy adopts a “selective concentration” strategy, focusing on nine flagship national universities nationwide. Prof. Yeom explained, “Previous initiatives encouraged competition among universities, which ultimately deepened polarization. In contrast, the ‘Creating Ten Seoul National Universities’ initiative seeks to raise standards steadily through universal funding among the universities, without relying on competition, which marks a significant difference.”

However, concerns remain about the effectiveness of the policy. Past initiatives aimed at developing regional universities often ended without tangible results due to a lack of implementation will and resistance on the ground. Ahn Sang-Jun (Professor, Gyeongkuk National University) noted, “Policies to promote regional universities were often flashy in name but fizzled out amid opposition from private universities and a passive government stance,” emphasizing the importance of a strong policy drive and commitment.

Some critics have raised concerns about the approach of the policy. The use of the term “SNU level” could standardize the identity and diversity of flagship national universities, and focusing solely on these universities might exclude other regional universities and junior colleges. Prof. Choi noted, “While the decline of flagship national universities is clearly an issue, they still occupy the upper tier in Korea’s university hierarchy, whereas many other regional universities and junior colleges face even more serious challenges. Portraying the revitalization of flagship national  universities as a solution to overall educational inequality is not desirable.” He added, “It is important to develop flagship national universities into world-class research-oriented institutions, but at the same time, discussions and support for universities outside this group must continue. Addressing the broader problems of Korean higher education requires political leadership as well as a balanced perspective.”

Reporter Park Seon-Young

Translated by Seo Young-Chae