Kyungpook National University exclusion sparks regional discrimination claims

Members of the People Power Party are protesting the Ministry of Education's decision to exclude Kyungpook National University from the ‘Making 10 Seoul National Universities’ package support program. The program recently selected Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, and Chungnam National University as recipients.

Lawmakers from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, including Kim Seung-soo and Lee In-sun, have characterized the exclusion as “clear political regional discrimination.” They argue that the selection criteria appeared to be designed to favor specific regions, noting that Kyungpook National University holds higher rankings in global university evaluations compared to the selected institutions.

Critics also questioned the fairness of the evaluation process, alleging that non-educational government officials played significant roles in the decision-making. The opposition has vowed to investigate the entire selection process through parliamentary audits and budget reviews to ensure transparency.