The Korea Council of Private University Presidents (KCPUP), led by President Jeon Min-hyun, expressed serious concerns over the Ministry of Education's initiative to provide full national scholarships to freshmen at 30 local public universities, arguing that it threatens the survival of regional private universities. The KCPUP called for a complete redesign of scholarship policies to focus on 'students and regions' rather than the 'type of institution.'
In a statement released on August 10, the KCPUP criticized the Ministry of Education's announcement made during a briefing to the Blue House on August 5 regarding the scholarship plan, labeling it a discriminatory and unreasonable measure against private universities.
“While we agree on the need to support local universities and regional talent, limiting this to public universities and select private institutions undermines equity among students and disrupts the foundation of fair competition,” the KCPUP stated.
The KCPUP also pointed out that the Local University Development Act, which the Ministry cited as a basis for its policy, does not restrict support to 'local public universities' alone.
The KCPUP emphasized that the educational and financial disparities between public and private universities are already severe. According to the KCPUP's '2024-2025 University Education Statistical Yearbook,' as of 2025, tuition fees at non-capital area public universities are only about 54% of those at private universities.
Additionally, the ratio of scholarships per student compared to tuition fees in 2024 is 20.5 percentage points lower at private universities (58.6%) than at public universities (79.1%). With non-capital area public universities spending approximately 56% more on education per student than private universities, providing additional benefits equivalent to free education solely to public universities is likely to exacerbate the existing disparities.
The KCPUP also criticized the government's 'double standards,' noting that significant taxpayer funds are concentrated on public universities without competition, while private universities, which account for 80% of higher education, have been forced to freeze tuition for years.
Furthermore, the KCPUP condemned the Ministry's recent selection of 15 regional small universities for the '2026 Local University Specialization Leading University Development Project,' which imposed harsh conditions, including a reduction of more than 3% in enrollment quotas.
“As we approach the 2027 admissions season, if public universities use full scholarships as a weapon in the recruitment battle, regional private universities will inevitably face greater challenges in attracting students,” the KCPUP warned. “This threatens the survival of private universities, which are vital to the foundation of small cities, ultimately exacerbating regional decline.”
In response, the KCPUP strongly urged the government to address three key issues: halting policies that deepen financial support imbalances between public and private institutions and providing equal scholarship support for students at regional private universities; improving discrimination against private universities, which bear the responsibility for 80% of domestic higher education, and establishing a foundation for fair competition; and utilizing the expanding resources of local education financial support to assist private universities with AI infrastructure and to enact a 'Higher Education Financial Support Law' for stable funding.
President Jeon Min-hyun (Inje University) reiterated, “The government must focus on students and regions rather than the type of institution. The regional balance scholarship policy should be thoroughly reexamined to ensure that all regional universities can cultivate local talent and contribute to regional development.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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