Last semester was yet another half-year without a formal president for the Korea University Student Union (KUSU) as the second reelection met a dead end due to its insufficient poll rate. Perhaps remembering the previous muddy elections, filled with issues from infeasible pledges to a disqualification of a candidate, voters, during the last elections, were upset to face another blank space. Due to the absence of a student union, the Emergency Central Steering Committee (ECSC) became responsible for all school issues from virtual classes to other ongoing school activities.
 

The KU Central Election Commission (KUCEC) plans to hold the third reelection for the 52nd student union in March, in accordance with the fresh start of a new semester. The 52nd poll, which was supposed to be concluded on December 6, 2019, was the starting point for the upcoming reelection. The two candidates, Baro and RE:FLY, failed to appeal to voters because they addressed unachievable pledges. Baro, for instance, promised to alter the currently mandatory Liberty Justice Truth II class into an elective course, but the General Studies Institute pointed out that such an alteration takes up to a year to review, stretching beyond their term in office.

The following first reelection exposed a critical flaw of the candidates, proving their ignorance. The one and only candidate, Sisun, meaning “vision,” was critically questioned by the student body about their pledges being too unrealistic and broad. For instance, they claimed that they would make sure all Anam housings receive pest control from the Seongbukgu office, but not a single specific term was written regarding the ways to achieve the mission.

Moreover, Sisun stained the election with faulty election campaigns which violated the Electoral Enforcement Regulations. The team campaigned so that non-KU people would encourage KU students to vote through online links sent through KakaoTalk chat rooms, which is in violation of Article 44. In addition, Sisun was reported to have engaged in direct conversation to alter voting results. Such actions were enough to eliminate them from the candidate list.

The upcoming year continues to be murky regarding this issue, as the student body may once again spend a semester without a functioning student union to advocate their interests. According to a Facebook post of KUCEC’s official account, uploaded in November 2020, the third reelection is scheduled to occur this March. However, recognizing the fact that the last election did not yield a fruitful result for Moment, potential candidates may hesitate to apply for the possibility of another voter turnout shortage and the absence of spring school events. Moreover, potential candidates could perceive the limitations of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as too severe; online voting and being required to raise awareness only virtually exacerbated the situation.

Previous KUSU's and elections have frustrated students to a point where they would rather not have a president, and the sentiment has continued for more than a year. Their absence has been forgotten by students, but this might be the only time KUSU can *project* a new solution to bring them back into action. Whoever seeks to fill the current vacancy should accept the hard time with gratitude and utilize the situation as a preparation for the next projection, rather than a retreat. Beyond simply establishing a position in school, the next KUSU should become a real troubleshooter that validly solves the smallest problems faced by students.