Seodongyong: "University Unfilled Quota 40,000... Twice Last Year's, 90% of Additional Recruitment is Local Universities"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 21st, Seo Dong-yong, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that the scale of unfilled university admissions in South Korea this year reached 40,000, more than double that of last year. During the afternoon's National Assembly questioning session, before questioning Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, Seo brought up the current state of unfilled admissions at universities and colleges this year and the crisis facing regional universities.

Seo stated, "This year, universities and colleges made additional recruitment efforts right before the start of the new semester, but the number of unfilled freshmen admissions reached 40,000, with 16,000 at four-year universities and 24,000 at colleges," adding, "This is more than double last year's unfilled number of 18,660."

He explained, "In particular, among four-year universities, 90.3% of the vacancies filled through additional recruitment after failing to meet quotas during the regular admissions period occurred at regional universities," and "In the case of colleges, excluding major metropolitan cities such as Seoul, Gwangju, Ulsan, and Incheon, the fill rate significantly decreased the further one goes into regional areas."

Seo emphasized, "Given the reality that population, industry, and capital are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, it is virtually impossible for regional universities to survive by competing with the metropolitan area over limited admission resources," and demanded countermeasures.

Minister Yoo responded, "In March, we prepared a mid- to long-term basic plan for regional universities together with various related ministries and heads of non-metropolitan city and provincial governments," adding, "We plan to announce the alternatives prepared in early May after more comprehensive discussions."

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