JINJU — South Gyeongsang Province and Gyeongsang National University have joined with Busan and Ulsan to bid for a government program known as "10 Seoul National Universities." Their plan is to secure 290 billion won ($210 million) in state funding by putting forward aerospace and defense as a single specialized field, building a research and education hub linked to regional industry.
The province and the university submitted a joint proposal with the cities of Busan and Ulsan for the Ministry of Education's 2026 program to support flagship national universities under its National University Development Project, they said on the 10th.
The program is a government policy initiative that selects three of the nine flagship national universities outside the greater Seoul area for concentrated support over five years, from 2026 to 2030. Selected universities receive a package that includes a branded "growth engine" college, designation as an artificial intelligence hub, and a shared-university arrangement under the government's regional development framework.
Gyeongsang National University set aerospace and defense as its single specialized field, drawing on the industrial base of the Sacheon, Jinju and Changwon region. In the Statistics Korea 2023 mining and manufacturing survey, the region's aerospace-defense output concentration reached 9.57, the highest in the country. Busan ranked second at 4.05.
Gyeongsang National University plans to draw on its regional industrial base — including Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Aerospace and the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) — to establish the College of Space, Aeronautics and Security (CSAS) and the National Institute for Space, Aeronautics and Security (NISAS). NISAS is to operate as a semi-independent research body, with officials from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, KASA and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sitting on its innovation committee.
To strengthen execution, the university will also form a package project steering committee reporting directly to the president. Local governments and companies — including the province, the cities of Jinju and Sacheon, KAI and Hanwha Aerospace — were given voting rights, creating a framework for industry-academia-government cooperation.
Gwon Jin-hoe, president of Gyeongsang National University, said the effort was "a chance to be reborn as a national institution that trains top talent to support the security of Korea's aerospace and defense sectors," and pledged to complete the establishment of CSAS and NISAS.
Ha Jeong-su, head of the university cooperation division at South Gyeongsang Province, said, "We will spare no administrative and financial support so that Gyeongsang National University and local firms can grow together and outstanding talent can put down roots here."
The province plans to continue consultations with relevant ministries alongside Busan and Ulsan, and, if the bid is selected, to support anchor-company investment and improve conditions for retaining local talent.
