Experts are calling for a new approach to Korea's higher education system — one that eases regulations on private universities while expanding public funding — given the country's unusually heavy reliance on private institutions compared to other major economies. Analysts say the entire higher education framework needs to be redesigned with a blueprint aimed at preventing regional depopulation and widening opportunity gaps among young people.
According to a report titled "Higher Education Financial Support for Balanced Regional Development in an Era of Great Transformation" by Seo Jae-young, a professor of education at Hannam University, 154 of Korea's 189 universities are private, accounting for 81% of the total. By enrollment, private universities have approximately 1.41 million students — more than three times the 420,000 students at national and public universities.
Korea's higher education structure differs sharply from those of the United States and Europe, where the public sector plays a dominant role. More than 90% of European university students attend national or public institutions, or private universities that receive public-level support. According to the report, Europe ensures comparable education quality at private universities through government base subsidies, research funding and tuition regulation. This structure allows students to receive consistent educational quality regardless of which university they choose.
In the United States, public university students accounted for 71.9% of total enrollment as of 2021, numbering 13.95 million. More than half of American college students attend affordable state universities, a system credited with securing broad public access to education. Notably, the U.S. provides only performance-based financial support targeting faculty and students at private universities, without subsidizing individual private institutions' operating expenses or imposing separate tuition regulations. This approach is considered to maximize university operational autonomy. The U.S. secures public access to education through its national and public universities while promoting competition among private institutions to raise educational quality.
Korea, by contrast, regulates tuition increases while providing limited financial support, resulting in widely varying educational quality across universities. The government currently caps tuition increases at 1.2 times the average consumer price inflation rate over the preceding three years, with regulatory intensity continuing to tighten.
This combination unique to Korean higher education — a private-centered structure coupled with strong price regulation and low public investment — extends beyond the financial deterioration of private universities to fuel a broader crisis at regional institutions. The report noted that "in many regions, private universities are effectively the only higher education institutions," adding that "the educational conditions at private universities are directly linked to opportunities for local young people."
The report calls for improvements in both tuition regulation and public financial support. It also recommends reviewing the adoption of a "minimum grant" model that would pair tuition controls with minimum operating cost subsidies. "To achieve balanced regional development, universities should be supported through a performance-linked support system that reflects regional contribution, educational quality and public interest, rather than simple fiscal injections," the report stated. "Additionally, new fiscal categories should be established to directly improve the educational environment for private university students, strengthening facilities, faculty and student support services."
