University students enrolled in departments with guaranteed employment at large companies, such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, are increasingly dropping out, a private educational institute said.
This trend is expected to accelerate if the medical school enrollment quota increases, it added.
Jongro Academy, a private preparatory school for middle and high school students, analyzed the dropout rate of such college departments from 2019 to 2023 and released its results on Thursday.
Some large companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Hyundai Motor, have signed contracts with universities to establish science and technology-related departments and help graduate students find employment in these companies.
According to the analysis, 83 students dropped out of the contracted departments of large companies from 2019 to 2023.
By company, 67 students dropped out from six Samsung Electronics-related departments. They were the Department of Systems and Semiconductor Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, the Department of Mobile Engineering at Kyungpook National University, the Department of Systems and Semiconductor Engineering at Yonsei University, the Department of Semiconductor Systems Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Department of Next Generation Communication at Korea University, and the Department of Semiconductor Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).
Twelve more students dropped out of the three departments contracted with SK Hynix – Hanyang University’s Department of Semiconductor Engineering, Korea University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering, and Sogang University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering.
Four students dropped out of Korea University's Department of Smart Mobility, which has a contract with Hyundai Motor.
Some of these majors were newly established in 2023.
As of 2023, 36 students dropped out of departments with employment contacts with large businesses. Compared to the 2025 enrollment of 510 students in these majors, 7.1 percent dropped out.
Experts say the number of students dropping out of such college departments will increase as the number of medical school students increases in 2025.
“The number of dropouts seems to have increased as additional contracting departments for large companies have been established since 2023,” Jonero Academy CEO Lim Sung-ho said. “As the medical school enrollment quota for 2025 is expanded, it is expected that the number of students dropping out of contracting departments for large companies will increase.”