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The "2024 2nd regular Meeting" of the Korea NU10 Presidents' Council (hereafter, the council), chaired by Kim Eel-hwan, President of JNU, was held at Chungbuk National University.

At the meeting hosted by Chungbuk National University, the presidents discussed measures for enhancing safety in newly appointed faculty in the research labs.

Currently, universities are encountering new developments such as interdisciplinary studies, convergence research, and the establishment of departments diverging from traditional liberal arts and sciences. Especially, the number of departments and laboratories requiring new safety equipment and facilities is steadily increasing each year. Furthermore, until 2023, the Ministry of Education supported national universities in improving laboratory environments and acquiring safety equipment through a project aimed at creating safe laboratory environments. However, since 2024, implementing laws related to laboratory safety in universities has become challenging due to a significant reduction in support from the Ministry of Education.

The council empathized with the need to prioritize the health and safety of research personnel and to prevent laboratory accidents, emphasizing the importance of budgetary support for the secure establishment of university research laboratories. In response, the council agreed to request budget allocation from the Ministry of Education for the establishment of a safe environment in newly appointed faculty research labs, based on the 2023 support scale, as part of the Ministry's Safety Environment Infrastructure Development Project.

Korea NU 10 Presidents' Council is a consultative body composed of the presidents of 10 national universities in Korea. The members include Kangwon National University, Kyungpook National University, Gyeongsang National University, Busan National University, Seoul National University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Jeju National University (Presidential University), Chungnam National University, and Chungbuk National University. The purpose of Korea NU 10 is to strengthen cooperation between national universities and contribute to higher education and national development.