Professor Lim Woo-young, who will become chair of the economics department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) this August, has voiced strong doubts about President Lee Jae-myung’s pledge to “create 10 Seoul National Universities (SNUs).” Lim argues that instead of replicating SNU, it would be far more effective to build “one or two universities five times better.”
Lim pointed out that even SNU, which is considered South Korea’s top university, is struggling to retain faculty, due to rigid seniority-based pay and outdated systems. “If SNU can’t keep its talent, how can ten more of the same model attract top academics?” he said.
In May, Lim successfully recruited two prominent economics professors from SNU to join HKUST. He said he never expected them to turn down the offer. Full professors at HKUST earn roughly three times more than their counterparts at SNU, where annual salaries are around 120 million won (approximately $87,000). Meanwhile, SNU’s tuition has been frozen for 15 years, and salaries remain disconnected from research performance. “SNU can’t compete,” Lim said. “It’s losing talent, and will continue to fall behind on the global stage without change.”
The government’s plan aims to elevate nine regional national universities to SNU’s level by injecting more funding, with the goal of curbing talent outflow to Seoul and promoting balanced regional development. However, many of these universities still operate under an outdated “department store” model, offering a wide range of programs without focus or competition. Without structural reform, increased funding could become a costly misstep. Critics warn that excessive efforts to equalize education could lead to overall decline in quality, unless innovation accompanies the investment.
What Korea urgently needs, Lim argues, is a globally competitive university. Cutting-edge research infrastructure and world-class talent development are vital to a country’s future. Yet in Nature’s recent “Research Leaders” ranking of top global institutions, no Korean university or research center made the top 50. “Copying today’s SNU ten times won’t change that,” Lim said. “We need to build one or two schools that are five times better—and we need to start now.”
0 Komentar