Pusan National University has officially been selected for the Ministry of Education’s Regional National Universities Growth Engine and AI Package Support Program, known as the “10 Seoul National Universities” initiative. On September 1, 2026, the Ministry of Education announced Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, and Chungnam National University as the first beneficiaries. Each selected university will begin receiving package support worth approximately KRW 70 billion per year for five years, from 2026 to 2030.
Key Changes
Pusan National University has proposed a total package program budget of KRW 290 billion. Specifically, the plan includes KRW 200 billion for Growth Engine branded colleges, KRW 50 billion for an AI hub university, and KRW 40 billion for the Five Poles and Three Special Regions shared university initiative.
However, this amount and the KRW 500 billion in total government support announced by Pusan National University do not refer to the same scope. The KRW 500 billion figure includes the National University Development Project, anchor projects, and other programs in addition to the package program, making it broader than the KRW 290 billion package budget.
The key distinction is between the “KRW 290 billion package program budget” and the “KRW 500 billion in total support including related programs.”
Current Status
Pusan National University’s plan includes establishing the Innovation Manufacturing–Marine Convergence College, the Strategic Industry AX Convergence Research Institute, and an AI college. It also plans to build a shared university system involving 26 universities in the Busan and Gyeongnam region.
The proposed schedule calls for the AI college to launch in March 2027 and the Innovation Manufacturing–Marine Convergence College to be established in 2028. These are currently announced implementation plans; details concerning organizational structures and budget execution will need to be confirmed as the projects progress.
The Ministry of Education explained that the selection process assessed connections with regional industries, each university’s level of preparation, education and research innovation plans, and consistency with the government-wide balanced-growth strategy, rather than simply allocating universities by region.
Impact
The selection is connected to Pusan National University’s plan to expand its education and research system around regional strategic industries and artificial intelligence. A central element of the plan is to combine manufacturing and marine-sector fields with AI education and research while promoting a shared system among universities in the southeastern region.
Students and parents should distinguish between policy selection and admissions outcomes. The announcement alone does not establish that the number of places, regional talent admissions, or admission cutoffs for the 2027 academic year will change. Pusan National University’s admissions office guidelines and future official announcements should be checked.
Next Checkpoints
The government plans to review institutional improvements and the establishment of organizational and physical foundations during the first year. It will then link financial support to evaluations of student and parent preferences, employment rates, regional settlement rates, and research performance.
The key schedules and materials to monitor are as follows:
- Progress toward launching the AI college in March 2027
- Progress toward establishing the Innovation Manufacturing–Marine Convergence College in 2028
- National Assembly budget deliberations and detailed announcements for each program
- Pusan National University’s admissions guidelines for the 2027 academic year