New chair of Korean Council for University Education to focus on university finances, international students

Park Sang-gue, the newly named chairman of the Korean Council for University Education [KOREAN COUNCIL FOR UNIVERSITY EDUCATION]

Chung-Ang University President Park Sang-gue vowed to solve universities' financial issues and ensure a quality educational environment for international students as he assumed the chair of the Korean Council for University Education on Friday.

Park's one-year term as chairman started March 1, and his inauguration ceremony will be held Thursday.

Park announced he aims to focus on improving the financial stability of universities during his term, according to his inaugural address released on Wednesday.

"The higher education sector faces multiple issues such as the declining student population, plans to increase the medical school quota, the decreased R&D budget and the need to increase undecided major programs," wrote Park.

"I will strive to address those fundamental issues by lifting tuition regulations, offering more funding for higher education institutions, implementing regulatory reforms to ensure universities' autonomy, and enhancing our global competitiveness."

Inviting more international students was frequently mentioned as a solution to universities' financial struggles and declining enrollment. Although Park also aims to welcome international students, he noted the importance of maintaining the quality of education.

"To solve the mentioned problems, many universities focus on hosting more international students," wrote Park. "But the concern is that our universities' quality of education and international credibility can deteriorate if we only focus on increasing the number of international students without careful consideration."

"I will do my best so that universities won't view international students as a mere solution to their financial struggles or decreasing enrollments, creating frameworks that can invite more talented students from various fields and increase our global competitiveness."

The Korean Council for University Education is a private association of four-year universities in Korea, founded in 1982. The association promotes partnerships between universities and coordinates university admission plans.

Park earned a bachelor's and master's in statistics at Chung-Ang University and a Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has been a professor at Chung-Ang University's Department of Applied Statistics since 1995 and was named university president in 2020.

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