[Insight & Opinion] Why Seoul National University Is Seoul National University

The Policy of Creating Ten Seoul National Universities Is Unrealistic
Concerns Grow Over Accelerating Talent Exodus Abroad in the AI Era
Need for Creative, Region-Specific Growth Strategies

Seoul National University is reportedly introducing a performance-based salary system for the first time in 14 years since its incorporation. This measure, though long overdue, is intended to prevent the departure of star professors, as university tuition has been frozen and Korean university professors’ salaries have stagnated for over a decade.

Seoul National University ranked 31st in the QS World University Rankings for 2025 but fell to 38th in 2026. Yonsei University entered the top 50 for the first time. In Japan, the University of Tokyo ranked 39th, while Chinese universities showed strong performance, with five universities?including Peking University at 14th?maintaining their positions.

With the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) era, the world is now engaged in a fierce talent war. There are even claims that the value of top AI talent reaches as much as 1 trillion won. Universities worldwide are fiercely competing to attract and cultivate the best talent.

In contrast, the reality in Korea is regrettably one where talent, the wealthy, and businesses are leaving the country. The nation fails to properly reward top-tier talent, treats the ultra-wealthy as targets for punitive taxation, and imposes all sorts of burdens on companies undertaking larger and more complex projects. As a result, capable individuals lose their motivation.

Seoul National University has long maintained its top position in Korea because talented students from across the country gather there, world-renowned scholars make up its faculty, and, over a long period, the state and corporations have invested to provide the best facilities and systems. Moreover, graduates educated in such an environment have, on average, played pivotal roles in various sectors of the nation.

Even if Seoul National University were expanded to ten campuses nationwide, it is highly unlikely that the number of top-tier students or professors would increase accordingly. Furthermore, with tuition frozen and an inability to properly pay faculty salaries or research funds, it is impossible to secure the necessary resources. Proposing rhetoric such as 'ten Seoul National Universities,' which is clearly illogical, only serves to mislead the public. It also brings to mind the sudden proposal to increase medical school admissions by 2,000. It is hard to understand how someone who proposed such a measure as a national education strategy was nominated as Minister of Education. Instead, it would be more appropriate to develop strategies to nurture local talent who can fulfill roles needed in their regions.

The nation should not stigmatize leading talent in every field as vested interests but should instead support their further development and contributions to the country. If we become fixated on ideologies that do not recognize excellence and pursue downward equalization, we will not be able to withstand the intense global competition driven by AI.

Policies that undermine national competitiveness and growth in the name of preventing regional extinction or achieving balanced regional development must be avoided. Rather than simply redistributing, creative growth strategies tailored to each region must be established. It is frustrating to see regions copying each other, making redundant investments, and wasting budgets on ineffective policies.

Instead of aiming for ten Seoul National Universities, we should focus on cultivating even one or two universities with independent competitiveness. First, we must examine why Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and KAIST have greater competitiveness than the long-established national universities scattered across the provinces.

Kim Hongjin, CEO of Work Innovation Lab