The Council of Presidents of National Regional Universities (Chair Kim Dong-won, President of Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)) held a press conference at the National Assembly Press Center at 11:00 a.m. on the 9th and proposed a higher education pledge for the presidential election aimed at developing regional hub universities into research-intensive universities on par with Seoul National University.

JBNU and other members of the Council said, “To strengthen national competitiveness, we must break away from the metropolitan-centered university hierarchy and cultivate regionally specialized research-intensive universities,” and proposed four key policies to develop world-class research-intensive universities, saying, “Converting regional hub national universities into research-intensive universities is the most innovative and effective measure likely to yield short-term results.”

The presidential pledge proposed that day includes: enactment of the National University Act; reform of mandatory regional recruitment requirements; implementation of free tuition for national and public universities; and strengthening regional R&D funding and revising related laws to foster regional hub research-intensive universities.

The Council stated, “Currently, per-student educational expenditure at regional hub national universities is only one-third that of Seoul National University,” and added, “To develop regional hub national universities into research-intensive universities, budgets must be increased to at least the average level of national university corporations; therefore, we petition for the enactment of the National University Act currently pending in the National Assembly.”

It also proposed, “Since retaining talented individuals in the regions promotes balanced national development and helps relieve metropolitan overcrowding, the current Innovation City Act should be amended to add a requirement that 20% of hires be filled by applicants from non-metropolitan areas outside the host region in addition to the existing obligation to select 30% of candidates from the public institution’s host region.”

It further argued that to prevent regional disappearance accelerated by a declining school-age population and to guarantee the right to education and equal educational opportunities as stipulated by the Constitution and the Framework Act on Education, the state or local governments should cover the full tuition of undergraduates at national and public regional universities.

In particular, to develop regional hub research-intensive universities, they said, “The government should enhance regional R&D capacity by establishing government-funded research institutes or branch campuses at regional hub national universities, and create government-supported outstanding specialized research centers tailored to each region and university,” adding, “Financial support for the specialized fields of hub universities should be increased to the level of science and technology-specialized universities, and pay restrictions on outstanding faculty should be lifted.”

Finally, the Council emphasized, “Creating world-class research-intensive universities in the regions — often summarized as ‘creating 10 universities at the level of Seoul National University’ — is an innovative alternative that will propel Korea’s re-ascendance and reshape the regional industrial landscape,” and added, “It is now time for the National Assembly and the government to respond. South Korea’s 2022 presidential election should be a turning point that establishes a new milestone for higher education.”