PM vows to support efforts to strengthen Korean universities’ competitiveness

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok / Captured from video

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged support for the joint efforts by the nation’s academia and business sectors and the government to strengthen local universities’ global competitiveness.

During the 2025 Korea Times Global Conference Wednesday, he recognized the changes in higher education around the world amid declining birthrates and growing competition to attract workers.

Kim said the country’s universities have the potential to overcome these challenges.

"I have attended universities in the United States, China and Korea, experiencing a variety of educational systems along the way," Kim said in his congratulatory speech via video during the conference held at the Grand Hall of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul.

"Through these experiences, I came to realize that Korea’s soft power is strong, and if our universities focus on developing global competencies, Korean higher education could become a model that attracts attention worldwide."

The prime minister added that many universities have already launched various effort to enhance their research and development capabilities, expand joint research programs with foreign universities and attract international students.

"The government is also making efforts, launching support programs involving local governments, universities and companies," he said. "It will also expand investment to support each university’s specialty research field."

He said this conference would be a venue where academia, business and government sectors gather to discuss ways to strengthen Korean universities’ global competition. "I hope this will be a momentum for Korean universities to leap forward to lead global learning."