Graduates clad in borrowed gowns fling their graduation caps into the air after attending the second commencement ceremony of the 2021 academic year at Hanyang University in Seoul on Aug. 18, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Voices are growing for the need to improve the system to foster regional universities because donations to private universities were concentrated in Seoul last year.
According to data from the Korea Advancing Schools Foundation, the combined donation income of the nation’s 192 private universities totaled 408.8 billion won (US$309 million) last year, which is equivalent to 2.2 percent of their total income.
By region, the private universities located in Seoul recorded a donation income of 240.6 billion won, which accounts for 58.9 percent of the total.
The amount of donations to the private universities in the five metropolitan cities, excluding those in the greater Seoul area, stood at 59.7 billion won, which is 14.6 percent of the total.
The amount of donations to regional private universities stood at 62.5 billion won, which is 15.3 percent of the total.
The per-school donation for each private university in Seoul stood at 4.29 billion won. However, including other schools in the greater Seoul area, the amount dropped to 2.86 billion won.
The per-school donation for those in metropolitan cities, excluding the greater Seoul area, amounted to 2.06 billion won, while the donation for other regional private schools remained low at 993 million won.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
