Ministry of Education Orders Closure of Dongbusan University... Special Transfer and Admission for Enrolled Students Planned

Failure to Comply with Correction Order Including Recovery of Embezzled School Funds

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Dongbusan University, operated by the Seolbong Foundation, will be closed on the 31st.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Education announced that it had issued a university closure order on the 7th after going through a hearing procedure in accordance with Articles 62 and 62 of the Higher Education Act.

Dongbusan University was found to have failed to comply with the recovery correction order related to embezzlement of school funds until recently. The Ministry of Education has requested corrections three times this year and issued a closure warning. Additionally, Dongbusan University received administrative sanctions for failure to return national subsidies, violation of the autonomous quota setting standards, and was designated as a university subject to financial support restrictions based on the university basic competency diagnosis results. A sharp decline in student enrollment rates, decreased tuition revenue, embezzlement of school funds, and delayed payment of faculty and staff wages have combined to cause severe financial deterioration.

The Ministry of Education explained that it decided to close the university because Dongbusan University violated laws and regulations, failed to comply with the Minister of Education’s correction orders more than three times, and due to serious financial difficulties, it is difficult to expect normal academic operations in the future.

Following the closure order of Dongbusan University, 761 enrolled students will be specially transferred to nearby universities. The principle is to transfer to the same or similar departments or the same academic year in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, but if not available within the region, the area will be expanded. The universities eligible for transfer will be announced through the Korea Private School Promotion Foundation and the websites of the respective transfer universities.