This file photo taken on March 8, 2021, shows an industrial design practice class under way at a university in Daegu, southeastern South Korea. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of South Korean universities are having difficulty recruiting new students due to a sharp decline in the school-age population resulting from a rapidly dropping birth rate.
Against this backdrop, the number of universities that are attempting to downsize through mergers and integration is increasing.
The Mungyeong city government in North Gyeongsang Province is spurring efforts to integrate Soongsil University in Seoul and Munkyung College in the city to set up the Mungyeong Campus of Soongsil University.
Hankyong National University in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province and the Korea National University of Welfare in Pyeongtaek will be merged in March next year.
There have also been a number of cases in which two universities run by the same school foundation have merged.
The school foundation Gowoon Academy decided to merge its two universities — Suwon Science College and the University of Suwon — and submitted the merger plan to the Ministry of Education in September.
The enrollment rate for Suwon Science University has remained at about 70 percent over the past two years.
Educational experts note that an increasing number of universities will be merged or abolished in the future, adding that contingencies are needed to minimize social costs arising during this process.
“The decline in the number of universities is expected to deal a blow to the welfare of faculty members and regional economies,” said Song Ki-chang, a professor of education at Sookmyung Women’s University.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
