In order to foster the knowledge economy, collaboration between government, industry and academy is becoming increasingly important. The Triple-Helix (government-industry-academy) model is geared toward innovation in academic institutions and the transfer of academic knowledge to industrial and/or societal domains. This article studies crucial factors that either encourage or hamper activities in a South Korean university, by comparing each engineering department's responses to the national Brain Korea 21+ funding scheme that promotes and evaluates the academy's The Triple-Helix (government-industry-academy) performance. Finally, the article discusses the importance of leadership and communication in developing an atmosphere for spontaneous academic activities and the government's role that might deteriorate innovative atmosphere.