Junior colleges are categorized as national junior colleges, municipal junior colleges (where the term ‘public junior colleges’ is used below it refers to these two categories collectively), or private junior colleges.
The establishment of national junior colleges and private junior colleges, and the suspension or termination of their operations, shall be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education in accordance with educational policies, and national needs, taking into account the actual circumstances of each region nationwide. Details of the establishment of municipal junior colleges, and of the suspension or termination of their operations shall be reported to the Ministry of Education by the municipal government concerned for review and approval. The establishment of private junior colleges and the suspension or termination of their operations shall also be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Private School Law.
Junior colleges may establish branch colleges, and branch campuses. The regulations governing the terms and conditions, procedures, and other regulations that must be complied with in conjunction with the establishment, or the suspension or termination of the operations of junior colleges or any branch school or branch campus shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.

To balance the availability of junior college education in all local regions, in accordance with the law, in a county (city) which does not have a junior college or any educational institution with a junior college division, the Ministry of Education may select a public skills-based senior high school, or consolidate several such high schools and convert it or them into a junior college which has an affiliated skills-based senior high school division. The terms and conditions, eligibility criteria, application procedures, and review procedures of such junior colleges; and regulations governing the organization, and teachers’ qualification requirements of their affiliated high schools, and other matters which must be complied with shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.

To upgrade the practical skills and knowledge base of professionals and people in the workforce, and enhance the quality of technical and vocational education, in accordance with the law the Ministry of Education may approve the change of institutional status of a junior college which satisfies the criteria for the establishment of a tertiary institution to become a technical college. The regulations governing the terms and conditions, procedures, and reviews for such a change of institutional status shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
Universities of technology and technical colleges may establish junior college divisions. The regulations governing the organization, criteria, procedures, and review and approval process pertaining to establishing such junior college divisions shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
Junior college divisions affiliated with a university of science and technology or with a technical college shall apply the provisions of this Law pertaining to program duration (years), establishing and altering such a division’s category or categories, departments, student admission eligibility requirements, maximum number of years to complete studies, courses, and facilities.

When either of the two situations listed out immediately below pertain to a junior college which has become a technical college, or to a technical college which has been renamed a university of science and technology, in the case of a public institution, it shall become a junior college after review and approval by the Ministry of Education; in the case of a private institution it shall become a junior college after the legal entity under which the educational institution is registered submits details to the Ministry of Education and receives approval:
1. When further development of the educational institution requires it.
2. When the educational institution has encountered some significant difficulty, making it unable to continue its operations, and requiring such an alteration.
If the operational performance of the technical college or university of science and technology referred to in the preceding paragraph is unsatisfactory, the Ministry of Education may order it to become a junior college.
If the operational performance of a junior college is unsatisfactory and corrective action is not fully undertaken within a specified time, the Ministry of Education may order its closure.
The provisions of Paragraphs 1 and 2 may be applied mutatis mutandis to a junior college formed in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 from one skills-based senior high school, or by merging two or more, and it may be changed into a skills-based senior high school.
The regulations governing the terms and conditions, procedures, and other associated matters that must be complied with in conjunction with any change of the institutional status or closure of an educational institution referred to in the four preceding paragraphs shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.

A junior college may apply to change its name in conjunction with its development needs. In the case of a national junior college, an application for such a name change shall be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education; in the case of a municipal junior college, such an application shall be reviewed and approved by the municipal government; and in the case of a private junior college, the application shall be referred to the legal entity under which the college is registered to forward to the Ministry of Education for review and approval. The regulations governing the terms and conditions, procedures, and other associated matters that must be complied with to change a college’s name shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.

A junior college may choose one or more appropriate educational institutions for a merger (consolidation) and undertake merger planning, taking into due consideration their own resources, circumstances, and development focus. In the case of a national junior college such a plan for a merger (consolidation) shall be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education. In case of a municipal junior college, after receiving approval from the municipal government the plan shall be submitted to the Ministry of Education for review and approval. In case of a private junior college, the plan shall be submitted to the Ministry of Education by the legal entity under which the college is registered, for review and approval before proceeding with the merger (consolidation). The regulations governing the terms and conditions, procedures, and other associated matters that must be complied with when undertaking a merger (consolidation) shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
If the merger (consolidation) referred to in the previous paragraph involves a merger (consolidation) between junior colleges in different categories, i.e. national, municipal, and/or private junior colleges, the proposed merger (consolidation) plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Education may, after weighing and considering factors such as the distribution of junior colleges, and the allocation of educational resources, recommend that junior colleges implement a merger (consolidation) plan, and assist them to do so.

In principle junior colleges cater to provide education targeting specific areas. When necessary, one junior college may have sub-divisions in different categories which cater to different areas: each sub-division will have its own departments.
The number of students admitted to junior colleges shall be of a scale consistent with their resources circumstances. The standards shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
Each junior college shall establish reasonable scales for development in accordance with the standards referred to in the preceding paragraph. National junior colleges and private junior colleges shall submit details of the scale of their proposed developments to the Ministry of Education for approval. Municipal junior colleges shall submit such details to the municipal government for approval, after which they become a basis for planning of alterations to colleges’ categories, departments, and the number of students that may be admitted.

A junior college may establish a continuing education division; the regulations governing its establishment, alterations, cessation of operations, and other associated matters shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
Beginning from April 23, 2019 when the amendments to this Act came into effect, each junior college of continuing education and each evening division established before the amendments to this Act came into effect on April 23, 2019 shall be transformed into a continuing education division in accordance with the provisions of this Act; the provisions that were in place before the amendments to this Act came into effect on April 23, 2019 regarding the rights and interests of the faculty and all other staff already employed and of the students already enrolled shall still apply.
The procedure and time limit for the transformation of each junior college of continuing education and each evening division into a continuing education division referred to in the previous paragraph shall be prescribed in the regulations referred to in Paragraph 1.

Each junior college shall regularly undertake evaluation of its teaching, services, guidance and counselling, administration, student practicums and internships, cooperation with the business and industry sector, and student participation. Regulations governing the evaluation shall be formulated by each junior college.
To promote the development of each junior college, the Ministry of Education may form an evaluation committee or commission universities, academic organizations, or professional accreditation bodies to undertake regular evaluations of junior colleges, and it shall make the results of such evaluations public. The results of these evaluations may be used as reference material for making changes to and developing junior colleges. Each evaluation shall be undertaken in accord with the principles of incorporating diversity and professionalism, and the regulations governing the evaluation categories, content, criteria, methods, procedures, use of the evaluation results, and other evaluation associated matters shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Education.