143 disaster management specialists to be trained; government funding extended to undergraduate programs

[Financial News]  Four universities—Kangwon National, Dong-Eui, Soongsil and Hoseo—will receive government support for a program to train disaster management specialists. Each university will receive around 150 million won in government funding through the end of 2027, to be used for student scholarships, education and training, research activities and other purposes. In particular, eligibility for support will be expanded this year to include undergraduate programs, in addition to the existing master's and doctoral programs.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 12th that it had signed agreements with the four universities at Government Complex Sejong for the “Specialist Training Program in Disaster Management.”
The program will train a total of 143 specialists. Undergraduates, included in the program for the first time this year, make up the largest group at 75, followed by 38 master's students and 30 doctoral students.
Government support will run for three semesters, from September 2026 to December 2027. Each university will receive around 150 million won, bringing the total for the four universities to about 600 million won.
Each university will run degree programs related to disaster management and support field internships and certification efforts. Support will also cover students' research activities and publication of papers.
The biggest change in the program is that the scope of disaster management specialist training has been expanded from graduate schools to undergraduate programs. Previously, support focused on master's and doctoral programs, but starting this year, undergraduates will also be eligible for scholarships, education and training, and other forms of support.
Since 2014, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has trained a total of 904 disaster management specialists through the program. They work in areas including disaster-related research and development and corporate disaster risk reduction activities.
“To build a society resilient to disasters, it is above all important to systematically train young people who will take responsibility for disaster safety in the future,” said Kim Gwang-yong, head of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters. “We will work closely with universities and actively support young people so they can grow into disaster management experts with specialized knowledge and on-the-ground response capabilities.”

[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter