The government will invest 100 billion won annually in each of three regional flagship national universities to boost local economies and cultivate related talent. Six other flagship national universities will each receive 30 billion won per year, positioning regional universities as core pillars of the national balanced growth strategy known as "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones."
This policy represents the detailed implementation plan for the Lee Jae-myung administration's signature education pledge to "create 10 Seoul National Universities." Given budget constraints, the final plan adopts a "selection and concentration" strategy, focusing resources on three universities. Some universities that had anticipated larger budget allocations are voicing disappointment that the policy has been scaled back to essentially "creating 3 regional Seoul National Universities."
Education Minister Choi Gyo-jin unveiled the "Regional Talent Development Plan Linked to Growth Engines" at the Sejong Government Complex on Thursday. The plan centers on selecting three regional flagship national universities within the year and providing 1 trillion won to each over five years at a rate of 100 billion won annually.
Through this initiative, the government aims to raise per-student education spending at the three universities to 44 million won by 2030—approximately 70 percent of Seoul National University's level. As of 2024, the average per-student education spending at regional flagship national universities stands at around 25.4 million won.
"The intergovernmental council concluded that we should first select three universities to create model cases, then spread those examples," Minister Choi said. "We will also prepare the remaining six universities to serve as talent development hubs."
Breaking down the 100 billion won allocated to each of the three universities by category, "brand college development" receives the largest share at 40 billion won, followed by education and research quality improvement (up to 30 billion won), regional innovation hub incentives (20 billion won), and AI hub university development (10 billion won).
The Ministry of Education will establish "Growth Engine Brand Colleges and Specialized Convergence Research Institutes" at the three flagship national universities while launching package support that integrates undergraduate programs, graduate schools, and research institutes. The specialized convergence research institutes will build cooperative frameworks with corporations, government-funded research institutions, and institutes of science and technology. Joint university-corporate research centers within these institutes are expected to enable technology development and demonstration in one location.
To attract top talent, universities will implement special scholarship programs covering both tuition and living expenses, undergraduate research participation programs with close mentorship from advisors, and special research scholarships for graduate students. A new "specialized faculty track" will also be created, offering research funding and equipment through a separate performance management system to recruit outstanding professors.
The Ministry of Education plans to establish an "organization directly under the university president" to oversee AI academic units and AI convergence education and research, developing the three universities as regional AI education and research hubs. This brand college and AI hub university initiative is expected to produce approximately 3,000 strategic industry and AI professionals annually.
The number of undergraduates in "employment-conditional contract departments" at flagship national universities, currently averaging 42 students, will increase to 80 by 2030—comparable to levels at universities in the Seoul metropolitan area. Additionally, 120 billion won will be allocated to expand existing provincial shared universities into "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones super-regional networks" to spread innovation achievements from flagship national universities.
The three universities are expected to be selected as early as the third quarter of this year, considering the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's scheduled announcement of regional growth engine strategies. The Ministry of Education plans to execute related budgets immediately upon selection. Since balanced national development is the policy's core objective, only one university per major region is expected to be selected, making fierce competition among universities likely.
"Package support projects for the three universities will begin in earnest from 2028," Minister Choi said. "By around 2030, we aim for these universities to rank within the world's top 200 in their specialized fields."
He added, "Developing regional talent is essential to overcoming the Seoul-centric concentration. Over the five years of the People's Sovereignty Government, we will foster regional universities not only to close the gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan universities, but also to establish a foundation where regional talent becomes the core driving force of national growth."
