Higher Education Reform in Korea
- Policy Responses to a Changing Labor Market -
February 13, 2007
Moon Hee Kim
Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development
Republic of Korea
CONTENTS
1
2
3
Overview
The Change of Labor Market
HE Policy Responses to Labor Market Change
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
1
1.
Overview
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
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Number of Students & Schools, HE
<As of April 1, 2006>
Number of schools
Number of students
total
public
private
Junior College
Technical college
Miscellaneous
Cyber College
152
1
2
13
139
1
2
817,994
65
39
3,600
33,553
886,926
65
39
3,600
Subtotal
155
13
142
821,698
33,553
788,145
University
Teacher college
Industrial Univ.
Tech university
Air&correspon
Miscellaneous
Cyber
175
11
14
1
1
3
15
1
221
25
11
6
150
1,888,436
25,881
180,435
130
273,417
1,027
64,658
63
2,434,047
405,256
25,881
87,374
1,483,180
College in Company
Subtotal
Total
8
1
1
43
3
15
1
178
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
public
Private
93,061
130
273,417
791,928
1,027
64,658
63
1,642,119
3
Economic Development
1970
1980
1990
1997
1998
2000
2004
2005
Population
(Millions)
32
38
43
46
46
47
48
48
GNI per capita
(US$)
650
2,324
7,751
10,363
6,843
9,675
14,193
16,291
Unemployment
rate (%)
4.4
5.2
2.4
2.6
6.8
4.1
3.7
3.7
Labor force
(Millions)
10
14
19
21
21
22
23
24
Labor force
Participation
rate (%)
47.6
59.0
60.0
62.2
60.5
60.7
62.1
62.0
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
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Sequential Expansion of Education
Step-by-step attainment of universal education:
primary  secondary  higher education
Enrollment by Educational Lev el
(%)
Elite
120
Mass
Universal
※ Trow, “Forms and Phases of Higher Education”: Elite  Mass  Universal
100
80
60
Primary
40
20
0
1970
1975
1980
1990
1995
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
2000
2003
Lower
Secondary
Upper
Secondary
Tertiary
2005
5
Policy Foci for Economy and Education
Economy
Education
Period
Take-off & export-driven
growth(’60s); export
acceleration(early ’70s)
Expansion of primary and
1960s ~
middle school education;
mid-1970s emphasis on TVET(late ’60s)
Structural
Expansion of high school and
adjustment(late ’70s); from mid-1970s
higher education;
imitation to innovation(’80s) ~ 1980s
strengthening of TVET
Pursuit of national
competitiveness(early’90s);
knowledge-based
economy(late ’90s)
1990s~
Present
K-12 quality enhancement;
investment in higher
education; reform for lifelong
learning
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
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2.
The Change of Labor Market
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
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Changes in Industrial Structure
< Employment Structure >
100%
90%
80%
70%
25.5
2.6
8.8
60%
32.4
2.9
14.3
50%
63
20%
47.1
61.5
7.4
27.6
50
10%
18
0%
1970
1980
Agriculture, forestry, fishery
Construction
7.5
20.4
34
1963
65.5
6.2
22.5
40%
30%
37.3
1990
7.9
18.7
11
8
2000
2005
Manufacturing
Service industry
※ 2015p: Agriculture 5.5%, Manufacturing + Construction 18.3%, Service 76.2%
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Demographic change
Low
Fertility
Total fertility rate
No. of birth
Ageing
Demographic structure:
age group
2040
10.3
2030
11.4
2026
11.7
2018
12.7
72.9
14.3
2017
13.0
73.2
13.8
2006
57.2
32.5
64.4
67.5
18.6
2000
9.5
71.7
25.6
1980
20.8
71.9
21.1
1990
24.3
7.2
69.3
34.0
1970
62.2
42.5
0%
20%
0 ~ 14
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
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5.1
15 ~ 64
3.8
54.4
40%
60%
3.1
80%
100%
over 65
9
Youth Unemployment
Youth(15~29세) Unemployment(’06.11), 7.5%(34.3mil.):
2.3times greater than the overall UR
Unemployment rate(%)
9
8.1
7.9
8
8.3
8
8
7
7
7.5
6
5
4.4
4
4
3.3
3.6
3.7
3.7
2003
2004
2005
3.2
3
2
1
0
2000
2001
2002
전체
2006.11
15 - 29세
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Skill Mismatch / Low Satisfaction
Skill Mismatch in labor force
Demand
A
Supply
Lack of qualified
core talents
Youth unemployment
(343,000)
B
C
B
C
Labor shortage at SMEs
(197,000)
Low level of satisfaction towards university graduates
※ Ranked 50th out of 61 countries in terms of university education meeting
economic demands(IMD, 2006)
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Wage gaps / Wage premium
Increasing non-regular employment  widening a wage
gap.
University premium decreased until mid-90s but…
Wage gaps by employment (ratio)
1.8
1.7
2.1
2.0
Regular / non-regular employment
1.6
1.9
4-year college graduate / HS graduate
1.5
1.8
1.4
1.7
(company size) Over 500 / 10-29
1.3
1.6
1.2
1.5
1992
1994
1996
1998
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
2000
2002
2003
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3.
HE Policy Responses to Labor Market Change
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Vision and Goals
Top-notch
professionals
Regional
innovation
initiators
Industrial
engineers
(Graduate Schools)
(Universities)
(Junior Colleges )
Restructuring &
competition
Selected funding
for specialization
LB information
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
Partnerships
14
Major strategies
Improvement of HE/labor market information
- manpower forecasting and assessment of skill requirements
Promotion of restructuring and competition through
market discipline
- use of various incentives and disincentives
Funding based on “selection and concentration”
- targeted funding for specialization and regional parity
Financing learners rather than providers
- learner-oriented/demand-side financing (student loans)
Enhancement of networking and partnerships
- with local governments and business community
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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HE Reform Initiatives
Strengthening graduate programs in high value-added
service areas: medicine, law, international finance, MBA, etc
Introduction of a new HE quality assurance system
- Establishing the new quality assurance agency including the
accreditation and certification process with global standard
- Financial provisions aligned with institutional evaluations
Clearing HE information
- Inputs measures: PT ratio, unit expenditure, occupancy/ enrollment rate
- Process/Outcome measures: persistence/graduation rate, employment
rate, customer satisfaction, etc.
Financial incentives for reform and restructuring HE Inst.
- Subsidies linked to amalgamation among institutions
※ Reducing enrollment by 50K students by 2009(18 inst. merged into 9, as of 2006)
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Major Programs to enhance the Quality
(1US$ = 1,000KRW)
◈ 1st-Phase Brain Korea 21 (1999~2005, US$ 1.4billion)
▶Enhanced university research capacity; induced competition
※ Number of BK21 science & tech SCI-level papers: 3,765(1998)  7,947(2005)
▶Produced scientists of international competence
※ Number of doctors in science & tech(1999~2005): 6,602
◈ 2nd-Phase Brain Korea 21 (2006~2012, US $2.3billion)
▶Cultivate 20,000 graduate-level best brains per year
※ 74 universities, 244 project units, 325 project teams(2006, US$ 290million)
◈ New University for Regional Innovation (2004~2008, US$ 1.2billion)
▶Specialize local universities; nurture human resources readily
adaptable to the industry
※ 109 local universities, 130 project units
◈ “Connect Korea” Project(2006~2010, 150million)
▶Strengthening partnership b/w universities and industry
▶Establishing Consortium b/w TLOs (Technology Licensing Offices) in univ.
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Government Role
The government system changed since 2001.
Before
Now
Name
MOE
MOE&HRD
Head
Minister
Deputy Prime Minister(DPM)
Scope
Education,
Adult Education
Education, LLL,
Coordinating HRD Policy
Coordinate HRD/VET polices among different line ministries.
- Ministerial Committee on HRD (chairperson : DPM)
- The Committee is composed of 14 Ministers
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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Thank you
mhk3333kim@moe.go.kr
Labor Market Change and Higher Ed.,
Expert Meeting, CERI(OECD)
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