YANGJU — The city of Yangju in Gyeonggi Province has removed the biggest administrative obstacle to a university moving into Yangju Techno Valley. After extended talks with the Ministry of Education, the city formally resolved the question of whether Seojeong University needs an "industrial complex campus" approval to set up operations in the complex, a step expected to accelerate industry-academia cooperation aimed at strengthening the region's industrial competitiveness.
Seojeong University had been pushing to move into Techno Valley since last year, the city said on the 2nd, but had struggled with the legal interpretation of whether ministry rules required it to obtain a separate approval to establish an industrial complex campus. Being designated as an industrial complex campus would have required the school to meet strict operating standards and undergo regular evaluations, leaving it facing heavy administrative and financial burdens and inevitable delays to the project.
Starting in July, the city analyzed the relevant laws and how other local governments across the country have handled similar cases. It identified a legal argument that a university's main site and a site inside an industrial complex can be recognized as "a single, undivided campus site" if certain conditions are met. The city then pressed its case with the Education Ministry and secured a final reply on Sept. 28 stating that Seojeong University's move into Techno Valley involves the same campus site and therefore requires no separate approval.
With the regulatory issue resolved, Seojeong University can sharply reduce administrative procedures and move ahead earlier with industry-academia projects, including linking research and education functions with companies in Techno Valley, joint research and development, and tailored workforce training.
"This is a reasonable solution that came from listening to voices on the ground, closely examining the intent of the law and actively consulting with the central government," Yangju Mayor Chung Duck-young said. "We will continue to push for better regulation so that local universities and companies can cooperate on their own terms inside the industrial complex and create synergy."
