South Korea’s Education Ministry has selected 33 private universities and colleges for a five-year initiative worth 600 billion won ($450 million) to strengthen their competitiveness in specialized fields, including semiconductors, physical AI and aviation.
The ministry announced Monday that 16 four-year universities and 17 junior colleges had been selected for the newly launched initiative, which will provide financial support from 2026 through 2030.
The program is designed to help private institutions respond to declining student populations and changing industry needs by concentrating educational resources in fields aligned with their strengths, national policy priorities and regional industries.
All 16 four-year universities are outside the Seoul metropolitan area, while the 17 junior colleges are located both in the capital region and elsewhere.
For 2026, the government has allocated 85 billion won to four-year universities and 34 billion won to junior colleges. That amounts to an average of about 5 billion won and 2 billion won per institution, respectively.
The selected institutions will pursue specialization strategies in three broad areas: advanced and regional strategic industries; health and care services; and culture and content.
Sun Moon University will focus on semiconductors, while Kyungwoon University and Chodang University will specialize in aviation.
Among junior colleges, Gumi University will focus on physical AI, while Yeungnam University College will specialize in semiconductors and physical AI.
Participating institutions must reduce their admission quotas by at least 3 percent by 2030 and restructure departments to concentrate resources in their designated fields. They will also be required to establish measures to protect students affected by department reductions or closures.
The initiative also offers regulatory exemptions, including relaxed restrictions on leasing campus land and buildings, exceptions to open recruitment requirements for non-tenure-track faculty, and permission for universities formed through mergers with junior colleges to award associate degrees.
The ministry said it would adjust funding based on annual and interim performance evaluations and monitor implementation for up to five years after the program ends.
“This initiative will provide universities with an opportunity to concentrate their capabilities in specialized fields through autonomous restructuring and offer students high-quality education,” Education Vice Minister Choi Eun-ok said.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com