Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)'s research competitiveness has once again been demonstrated to be among the nation's best.

JBNU recently ranked 3rd among domestic comprehensive universities and 1st among flagship national universities in the Leiden Ranking, which evaluates the qualitative competitiveness of scientific and technological papers.

The Leiden Ranking, compiled by Leiden University in the Netherlands (ranked 75th in the 2012 QS), assesses the scientific and technological influence of 500 universities worldwide. Using the Thomson Reuters database, it examines the proportion of papers in each field that are among the top 10% most cited globally.

The Leiden Ranking prioritizes objectivity by excluding subjective elements that have posed problems in survey-based methods used in domestic university evaluations, including the QS ranking (which factors an academic survey that accounts for 40% of the 100-point score). A high proportion indicates that a university has many high-quality papers among its total publications.

In this evaluation, JBNU's proportion of excellent papers that fall within the top 10% most cited by scholars worldwide in each field was 8.1%. Only Seoul National University (8.9%) and Ewha Womans University (8.4%) ranked ahead of JBNU among domestic comprehensive universities.

Moreover, JBNU outranked other flagship national universities, which recorded rates in the 5–6% range, firmly establishing its reputation as a university that produces many world-class papers regardless of public or private status.

Notably, JBNU was ranked 9th nationwide in last year’s survey of 'top 1% papers' conducted by a leading domestic daily, and this year ranked 2nd among national universities in the number of 'top 1% papers' listed by the National Research Foundation of Korea, further solidifying its status as a prestigious university representing Korea despite regional university limitations.

JBNU has been able to receive such evaluations because it operates a faculty performance evaluation system that prioritizes the quality of papers over quantity. While most universities nationwide focused on increasing publication counts, JBNU has implemented paper-quality management policies since 2006, such as awarding additional promotion credit for papers in the top 10% by field and expanding incentives.

Regarding this, President Seo Geoseok said, "Although the quantitative level of Korean universities' publications has greatly improved, their qualitative performance lags far behind on the global stage. Believing that a single world-class paper can change the world, we are further strengthening JBNU's systems to enhance research competitiveness."