'Students to Medical Schools, Professors to Capital Area'... "The 4 Major Science and Technology Institutes Are Cradles for Professor Training"

Assemblyman Lee Haemin "Institutional Measures Must Be Established When Hiring Faculty and Staff"

It has been revealed that the outflow of faculty members from the four major science and technology institutes specializing in science and technology (KAIST, UNIST, GIST, DGIST) is severe. As students continue to leave due to the concentration on medical schools, it has been found that even professors are leaving the schools, highlighting the need for active government support policies.

According to the "Faculty Outflow Status of the Four Major Science and Technology Institutes (2019~September 2024)" submitted by the four major science and technology institutes to Lee Hae-min, a member of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee (Innovation Party for the Nation), a total of 160 faculty members left the four major science and technology institutes from 2019 to September 2024.

By school, there were 49 from KAIST, 68 from UNIST, 17 from GIST, and 26 from DGIST. UNIST experienced the highest faculty outflow. Considering that KAIST has twice the number of total faculty compared to UNIST, the faculty outflow at UNIST was confirmed to be more severe compared to other science and technology institutes.

The departing faculty mainly moved to universities in the Seoul metropolitan area. Among the total 160, 32 moved to Seoul National University, and 51 relocated to universities in the metropolitan area. Notably, among the moving professors, 16 moved to POSTECH and 13 to KAIST. This confirms that there is demand for faculty transfers even within specialized science and technology universities or the four major science and technology institutes due to treatment or support reasons.

Lee Hae-min, member of the Joguk Innovation Party

By rank, 51 professors, 65 associate professors, and 44 assistant professors left. The outflow was most prominent among associate professors, who are the most active rank.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, responsible for the four major science and technology institutes, responded to Representative Lee by stating, "We will make various efforts to prevent faculty outflow, such as improving faculty treatment and providing a comfortable research environment." The Ministry is preparing improvement plans for the four major science and technology institutes by the end of this year or early next year.

Representative Lee Hae-min pointed out, "Due to frequent faculty outflows, the science and technology institutes are even being called the top domestic training grounds for professors," and added, "The science and technology institutes, which should nurture student researchers, have become stepping stones for professors' job changes," urging the establishment of institutional measures when appointing faculty members.

Meanwhile, according to data previously submitted by Lee Jeong-heon, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, among the freshmen admitted this year, a total of 155 students took a leave of absence in the second semester. This accounts for about 10% of the total freshman quota of 1,530 students.