People Power Party lawmakers from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province hold a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Thursday to protest the exclusion of Kyungpook National University from the Ministry of Education's "10 Seoul National Universities" package support program. [Provided by Rep. Lee In-seon's office]
People Power Party lawmakers from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province hold a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Thursday to protest the exclusion of Kyungpook National University from the Ministry of Education's "10 Seoul National Universities" package support program. [Provided by Rep. Lee In-seon's office]

People Power Party lawmakers from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, led by Rep. Lee In-seon, held a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Thursday, denouncing the exclusion of Kyungpook National University from the Ministry of Education's "10 Seoul National Universities" package support program as "blatant political regional discrimination."

"We cannot suppress our anger — let alone our deep regret — over this decision," the lawmakers said, condemning it as "yet another act of regional discrimination carried out under the banner of balanced national development."

They argued that the government had selected only three of five designated growth hubs despite promoting the "five poles, three specials" framework and a sweeping transformation of the national spatial plan, undermining its own balanced-development principles.

The lawmakers also raised concerns about the fairness of the evaluation process.

They said it had been confirmed that non-education officials — bureau and division chiefs from government ministries outside the education sector — played a substantial role in the assessment. "Was policy judgment and political intent placed ahead of expert judgment?" they asked.

They also cited what they called a fundamental breakdown in the consistency and credibility of government evaluations. In the previous Glocal University evaluation, Kyungpook National University and Pusan National University each received a B rating, while Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University received C and D ratings respectively — yet the lower-rated universities were selected this time and Kyungpook was left out.

The lawmakers vowed to scrutinize the entire selection process through the National Assembly's Education Committee and other standing committees, as well as through the national audit and next year's budget review. "We will never tolerate another act of regional discrimination carried out under the pretext of balanced regional development," they said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education announced Tuesday its final selection of three universities — Pusan National University, Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University — for the program. Kyungpook National University, the flagship national university representing Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, was left off the final list.


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