Assemblyman Seodongyong Points Out Government's Concentrated Investment in Capital Region Universities Accelerates Crisis of Regional Universities

Government Support per University, Top in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Lowest in Honam Region

Local Government University Support: Ulsan 6.4 Billion KRW, Sejong 120 Million KRW

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Seo Dong-yong, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeonnam Suncheon Gwangyang Gokseong Gurye (Eul) district), announced on the 13th that an analysis of the ‘2012~2019 Higher Education Financial Analysis Project Status’ received from the Korea Private School Promotion Foundation revealed that from 2012, when university structural reform was fully implemented, to 2019, government financial support for universities was concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, accelerating the crisis of regional universities.

As of 2019, the total budget supported by central government ministries to universities amounted to 13.752 trillion KRW. This is about 4.345 trillion KRW more than in 2012, when university structural reform began in earnest. However, about 35% of the increase in government university support, or 1.5227 trillion KRW, was concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area. Meanwhile, the Honam region saw an increase of only about 536.4 billion KRW during the same period, making it the region with the lowest growth rate in financial support (12.3%) except for the Gangwon and Jeju regions, which have fewer universities.

As of 2019, examining the actual support amount per university excluding operating expenses, universities located in the Seoul metropolitan area received the most government support. The average government support per university in the Seoul metropolitan area was about 27.5 billion KRW. On the other hand, the region receiving the lowest government financial support was the Honam region. In 2019, the government financial support per university in the Honam region was about 18.5 billion KRW, approximately 9 billion KRW less than universities in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Local governments conduct various forms of higher education financial support projects to promote regional innovation and development. As of 2019, the total higher education support amount from local governments nationwide was about 477.2 billion KRW.

Compared to the total university support amount of about 308.3 billion KRW in 2012, this increased by about 170 billion KRW. In particular, the support scale expanded most in the human resource development sector, with the total financial support in this sector reaching 161 billion KRW in 2019, an increase of about 92.2 billion KRW compared to 2012.

Analyzing the status of higher education support by local governments in 2012, the region with the highest support amount per university was Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. The regions with the lowest support were Gangwon, Gyeonggi, and Chungbuk, in that order. Overall, regions with large local government scales such as Jeju, Ulsan, Busan, and Seoul were active in university financial investment.

In 2019, the universities receiving the most support from local governments were located in Ulsan Metropolitan City. Conversely, the lowest support was in Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Gyeonggi Province, and Jeollanam-do, in that order. Similar to 2012, regions with high support per university were metropolitan cities or larger local governments such as Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Ulsan, and Jeju, while university support in non-metropolitan regions such as Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Chungbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Gyeongbuk was relatively low.

In summary, although the scale of investment in higher education expanded during the university structural reform process, the government’s financial support policy centered on universities in the Seoul metropolitan area did not change, accelerating the crisis of regional universities. Furthermore, university investment by local governments where regional universities are located, depending on the capacity and will of local government heads, has widened the gap in higher education between regions.

Assemblyman Seo Dong-yong said, “Over the past nine years since university structural reform began in earnest, the scale of government financial support for universities has expanded, but regional universities are becoming more difficult due to concentrated investment in Seoul metropolitan universities. Additionally, local governments with financial capacity are actively supporting universities, further widening the gap in higher education between regions. The government should rationally reform its university financial support policy and expand investment for local governments that have the willingness but lack financial capacity.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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