Rep. Kim Min-jeon of the ruling People Power Party raised concerns on Dec. 10 that Korean graduate programs may be exploited by Chinese students seeking Beijing residency permits.
"There are reports that Korean master's and doctoral degrees are being used as a means to obtain Beijing hukou," Kim said during a National Assembly Education Committee plenary session, referring to China's household registration system that restricts internal migration.
"If this is true, it is quite disheartening," Kim added. "I am concerned that Korean graduate schools may be engaging in degree-selling or failing to maintain educational quality."
Education Minister Choi Gyo-jin initially denied the possibility but later corrected his response. "We have confirmed that overseas graduate degrees can be advantageous for obtaining Beijing residency," Choi said.
The minister pledged to strengthen quality controls starting from the student selection stage. "We will review measures to penalize universities in internationalization assessments if students from specific countries are excessively concentrated," he said.
Data from the Ministry of Education showed 30,081 Chinese students were enrolled in Korean graduate programs last year, a 167% increase from 11,250 in 2016. Chinese students now account for more than half of the 59,040 total foreign graduate students in Korea. The figure exceeded 20,000 in 2020 and surpassed 30,000 for the first time last year.
