Pusan, Chonnam and Chungnam universities selected for South Korea’s ‘10 Seoul National Universities’ plan

Pusan National University, Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University will become the first regional flagship universities to receive concentrated support under South Korea’s “10 Seoul National Universities” government initiative.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jeong announced the selection on September 1. Nine government ministries finalized the decision through an interagency council chaired by the prime minister. The government said the three universities were chosen because their capabilities matched a broader strategy for balanced regional growth and could produce results in a short period.

Pusan National University plans to establish an innovation manufacturing convergence college covering shipbuilding and marine industries, mechanical systems and aerospace. It also plans contract-based departments with LG Electronics and Hanwha, along with a goal of developing a college ranked among the world’s top 100. The Education Ministry said the project could have a broad impact alongside its strategy for developing the southern maritime region.

Chonnam National University will create an advanced convergence college focused on cutting-edge semiconductors and future energy. It plans to expand a joint research institute model developed with Amkor Semiconductor Packaging to Samsung and Korea Electric Power. Chungnam National University will establish a Nexus College of Science and Technology and pursue joint education and research with KAIST.

Each university will receive about 70 billion won in package support this year, plus 30 billion won in additional general financial support compared with last year. That amounts to roughly 100 billion won annually through 2030. The announcement came just before early admissions applications, and the selected universities expected higher competition. An unnamed professor at another regional flagship university said the decision appeared to reflect government projects and regional conditions more than institutional preparation, warning that the gap among the universities could grow.

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There had been talk that the universities had already been decided based on government projects and regional conditions rather than each university’s own preparation or capabilities.