Education Ministry to make it easier for Korean universities to set up overseas programs
Published: 06 Apr. 2026, 17:39
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin, center, attends a ceremony in Hanoi to mark the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Kyungpook National University and Vietnam’s FPT University on March 5. [MINISTRY OF EDUCATION]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/06/da270455-bc60-4ac3-8b8c-0474be69309d.jpg)
Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin, center, attends a ceremony in Hanoi to mark the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Kyungpook National University and Vietnam’s FPT University on March 5. [MINISTRY OF EDUCATION]
The Ministry of Education plans to ease regulations regarding the establishment of overseas franchise programs by Korean universities as foreign demand for Korean higher education grows.
The proposed changes are expected to cut much of the red tape that universities must navigate in order to set up partnerships abroad.
The ministry said Monday that the proposal will be discussed at a meeting of university deans due to be held from Wednesday to Thursday at Kyonggi University’s Seoul campus.
The first day of meeting will be dedicated to national universities, followed by private institutions on the second day.
The gathering is expected to focus on key barriers to the overseas expansion of Korean universities, including governance requirements, accounting rules and faculty postings abroad.
A 2024 revision to the Higher Education Act already removed the requirement that universities must obtain prior approval from the ministry to operate franchise programs abroad, allowing them instead to proceed through direct agreements with foreign counterparts.
Under such franchise programs, a student can complete a four-year curriculum in their home country but still receive a degree from a Korean university.
The model represents a deeper level of engagement than joint programs, in which a student typically splits their studies between a Korean university and a local partner institution and receives a dual degree.
Several private universities are already operating franchise programs overseas, including Inha University, Bucheon University and Ajou University, all of which run programs in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
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Kyungpook National University is also preparing to launch a franchise program in Hanoi in partnership with FPT University, whose namesake is Vietnam’s largest information technology company. The school is part of FPT’s efforts to train IT talent.
According to the Education Ministry, a growing number of countries have recently requested partnerships with Korean universities, reflecting rising demand for Korean higher education abroad.
The Korean government plans to gradually expand support beyond franchise programs to enable the establishment of full overseas campuses of Korean universities.
The ministry said the establishment of local subsidiaries would allow Korean universities to take on a greater control of operations, increasing their autonomy.
“We will continue to refine laws and institutional frameworks so that universities can confidently pursue overseas expansion based on their respective strengths,” said Ha Yu-kyung, director-general for international education policy at the Ministry of Education.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-SANG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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