With universities heavily reliant on tuition, officials are exploring ways to diversify funding sources — and students are also urging schools to find alternatives to raising fees.

The Ministry of Education held a meeting Monday with the Korea Advancing School Foundation and various university officials to discuss strategies for stabilizing university finances.


"Despite increased funding from the government and local authorities, tuition still accounts for around 50 percent of universities’ total revenue and financial challenges will persist as the student-age population continues to decline," said Moon Jae-sung, director at the Korea Advancing School Foundation. "Around 65 percent of government subsidies are allocated to national scholarships, which can’t directly support financially struggling universities."

At the meeting, participants proposed various ways to reduce reliance on tuition and government funding. These included encouraging donations, utilizing university-owned assets to generate revenue and expanding industry-academia partnership projects.

According to the Korea Advancing School Foundation, donations accounted for only 2.2 percent of Korean universities’ total revenue in 2023. Suggestions to boost that figure included increasing tax deductions for donations to educational institutions and creating opportunities for smaller universities — particularly those with limited alumni or corporate networks — to collaborate with local governments in fund-raising efforts.

Using unused campus space for revenue-generating businesses was another proposed solution. As of April 2024, private universities owned 188.3 million square meters (2 billion square feet) of land, with 17 percent of it currently unused.

To support this initiative, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a legislative notice proposing changes to the Rule on Decision, Structure and Installation Standards for Urban Facility Planning. If enacted, the changes would allow universities to build facilities such as senior community centers or cultural complexes, rather than being restricted to education-only buildings.

Further proposals included expanding business and technology research projects through stronger partnerships between universities and industry.

Students, too, are calling on universities to seek additional revenue streams rather than leaning on tuition hikes.

At Ewha Womans University, the general student council is holding a vote on Tuesday and Wednesday to collect support for demands, including greater fiscal transparency and the use of university reserves before raising tuition.

The vote follows Ewha’s recent decision to increase domestic undergraduate tuition by 3.1 percent for the 2025 academic year — the first hike in 17 years for that group. If at least 50 percent of the student body, or 7,000 students, vote in favor, the student council will be authorized to formally meet with the university president to present their requests.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]