President Lee Ki-jeong, of Hanyang University, conducted an interview in the May 7 issue of "The Korea Economic Daily" about ways to strengthen university competitiveness.

President Lee analyzed that domestic universities are facing a crisis due to factors such as a decrease in student enrollment and intensified competition with global universities. He suggested that this challenge can be overcome through internationalization projects. As the disticntion of domestic and overseas becomes less significant, outstanding talents in Korea are turning their attention to foreign universities. In addition, the rapid decline in the school-age population makes it further hard to search domestic talents, even for top-tier universities in Korea. President Lee stated, "Even Seoul's top-ranking universities find it difficult to escape the consequences of the declining school-age population. The solution to overcome this crisis lies in 'internationalization.'"

President Lee pointed out attracting foreign exchange students as a solution to overcome the crisis. He explained that foreign exchange students of master's and doctoral degrees contribute to securing research personnel. President Lee stated, "Just by looking at the number of papers, we can recognize the contribution of foreign exchange students. We also plan to establish support programs to attract global master's and doctoral degrees researchers." It was also added that joint research with overseas universities is an alternative that can enhance research capabilities and competitiveness in a short period of time. President Lee said, "To establish an international research foundation, we are considering creating research support funds, forming joint research teams with foreign researchers, and providing special research grants." He also mentioned “ We will try to enhance the analysis system of individual faculty research achievements and provide incentives to professors who receive high scores in citation indices to enhance motivation.”

President Lee mentioned the "tuition freeze" as a factor that undermines university competitiveness. He stated, "While universities in advanced countries invest extensively in education with stable funding, domestic universities are facing financial difficulties with tuition fees that cannot even keep up with the inflation rate." President Lee also pointed out that major universities in Seoul are barely surviving with research funding, external development funds, and tuition fees from international exchange students. Regarding the recent government policies designed primarily for urban universities, President Lee said the policies for top-tier universities are needed as well. He emphasized, "While providing solid financial support to community universities, we need to create programs that enable universities in the capital region to compete with global universities."

Lastly, President Lee promised comprehensive support during his term to enable students to design their academic journeys flexibly and provide digital literacy education specifically for liberal arts students so that students may broaden their academic experiences. President Lee stated, "We will cultivate talents with a wide range of perspectives, fostering individuals who can navigate through various disciplines and meet the diverse requirements of future society."