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| Seonam University in Namwon, North Jeolla Province / Yonhap |
Many likely to face same fate as students decrease
By Jung Min-ho
The government is expected to close Seonam University in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, which many see as the first domino to fall in a country with a shrinking student population.
The Ministry of Education said Wednesday it has refused to accept takeover offers for the beleaguered school from two universities ― the University of Seoul and Sahmyook University.
Given the school's awful financial situation, the ministry's only practical option is to close it once and for all.
Seonam's founder Lee Hong-ha has been in prison since 2013 for embezzling more than 100 billion won ($89 million) from four schools, including Seonam, as well as his construction company. In May 2016, the Supreme Court confirmed his nine-year prison sentence.
"Aside from the money pocketed by Lee, Seonam is under 18.7-billion-won debt and is unable to operate on its own," a ministry official said. "We will get rid of those involved in the corruption completely."
Over the past three years, the school has been able to fill only 27.3 percent of the volume of its student recruitment and much of staffers' wages remain unpaid.
If the ministry decides to close the school, its 1,600 students are expected to be transferred to other schools nearby. Seonam has a second campus in Asan, South Chungcheong Campus, which is also expected to close.
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| Lodgings near the school / Yonhap |
Seonam was founded in 1991, when the number of people who hoped to enter college was far more than schools were able to accept. But the picture has changed.
Although high school students still compete fiercely to enter reputable schools, many colleges are now struggling to attract them.
According to the ministry, the number of people graduating high schools in 2018 will be below 560,000 ― the number all two-year and four-year colleges across the country can accept.
And the situation is only going to get worse. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Statistics Korea, the number of newborn babies this year is estimated to be 360,000, a major drop from 400,000 last year.
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