Dozens of Universities Have Trouble Recruiting Students

Eighty-four private universities have problems recruiting new students, which means they could end up broke before their current students have graduated. Many more provincial universities are unable to meet their annual student quotas due to the declining population and student preference for Seoul.

According to a report by the Korean Educational Development Institute, the 84 universities' finances are so bad that they can no longer operate normally and conduct proper academic research.

Sixty-two of them are outside the capital. South Chungcheong Province had the most failing universities with nine, followed by North Chungcheong Province (eight), North Gyeongsang Province (eight) and South Gyeongsang Province (six). Ninety-four of them are private universities that need to make a profit.

"Unlike the past, when corruption and nepotism were the main causes of problems at universities, population and social changes have emerged as the main reason for the increase in failing universities," the report said.

It added that the trend will only get worse and advised the government to help them close by reimbursing some of the owners' investment.