The importance of presidents in universities cannot be exaggerated. Besides from the fact that the president serves as a representative of the entire university, he also possesses the power to recommend the appointing of professors and deans, which is directly linked to the academic qualities of the university. The term for the current president, Kim Byung Chul, ends on February, 2015, and the election race for the new president is on the rise.

The election season is up! Although the campus is in an uproar because of election fraud committed by the student council, Godaegonggamdae, most students are not aware of the fact that the election for the new president of Korea University (KU) is under way. The new president will be chosen at the end of December, and is going to lead KU until 2019.

Most students are not familiar with the duties the president of KU performs. When a person is chosen as the president of KU, he not only represents the whole of KU, but also is in control of the all faculty members, has full responsibility in student guidance and school affairs. Besides that, the president can also recommend candidates for professorship, deans and the chairman of the College Board, and can appoint instructors, assistances and office workers.

The Election Process

Since the power of the president is huge at KU, careful election methods are applied when choosing a new president. The journey begins with the nomination committee for president receiving professorial applications until October 31. The nomination committee is consisted of 30 people: 15 professors, five alumni, four from the education foundation, three from the workers at KU, and three students. The three students that can be in the nomination committee are: the student council president for both Anam and Sejong Campuses, and a graduate student body president. The 15 professors are chosen via elections by professors from each department at both the Anam and Sejong campuses.

In order to register as an applicant, he/she should qualify for the following eligibility conditions. First, an applicant should be a professor that has held office at KU for more than ten years, and those who receive more than 50 recommendations from either the alumni or full-time professors. Or the candidate should be a person that has received more than four recommendations from the nomination committee. The candidate can also be a person who has the qualifications that are suitable for the president, and those who received more than 50 recommendations from either the alumni or full-time professors. Or the candidate can be someone that has received recommendation from an outside institution that is set by the education foundation.

When the submission period ends, each candidate announces commitments, and a preliminary examination by professors is preceded. In this process, all professors vote for a candidate, and the six candidates that get the most votes are selected as the candidates.

After the candidates are chosen, they are subjected to testing by the nomination committee, in which they perform presentations and receive questions from the committee. After that, the committee scores each candidate, and the top three candidates that got the most points are chosen as the final candidates, and are recommended to the education foundation. The foundation then chooses who will lead KU for four years. The whole process is expected to finish by the end of December.

Candidates for the Election

Six candidates registered for the election. They are as follows: Professor Yeom Jae-Ho (Public Administration), Professor Lee Doo-Hee (Business School), Professor Choe Kwang -Sik (Korean History), Professor Jang Dong-Sik (School of Industrial Management Engineering), Professor Choi Hyun-Chul (School of Media and Communication) and Professor Park Jung-Ho (Electrical Engineering).

Each candidate differs in their strengths. First of all, Professor Lee Doo-Hee, who is running for the second time, is thought to have power in globalization and his procedural abilities. He is the current dean of the Korea University Business School (KUBS), and has succeeded in making KUBS a world-class business school. He is also the brain power behind the Korea University International Summer Campus, which has elevated KU’s globalization progress. He also worked as the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE), a conference related to the academic education in universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Professor Yeom Jae Ho is the one most known to the public, even outside of school. He has not only appeared on a number of television programs, but he also has hosted several Television shows, and is the current vice president of KU. He is also working as the director general of evaluation of public institutions.

Professor Choi Kwang Sik’s strengths are his experience as the minister of culture an sports in 2011. While holding office as the minister of culture and sports, he succeeded in turning the industry into a profit-making one. He proposed the concept of Han-ryo road, and his planning abilities achieved recognition. The other three candidates, Professor Jang Dong-Sik, Professor Park Jung-Ho, and Professor Choi Hyun-Chul are ones who have never run for the election, and when looking back at history, the ones who were running for the first time did not get elected, and therefore, their odds of getting elected are pretty low.

What Students Expect from the Next President

What do KU students expect from the new president? According to interviews with KU students, the qualities that the next president should have can be summarized by the following student’s interviews. Oh Eun-Joo ('13, Economics), Park Hee-Gon ('12, Division of Foreign Languages and Literatures), and Cha Min-Jin ('14, School of Media and Communication) claim that a willingness to communicate with students is the most important factor that is needed from the next president. “I believe that the next president would receive acclamation from students if he abandons the authoritarian attitudes and tries to become intimate to students.” says Cha. Park pointed out that the next president should have enough consideration to the minors in KU.

Other students expect morality and probity as the most important quality of the future president. Jung Seung-Geun ('12, Electrical Engineering) and Cha claimed that the next president should be a man of integrity. Cha claims, “Since some of the former presidents was engaged in corrupt matters, I think the future president should have moral uprightness.”

Some pointed out the ability to execute as the most important quality that is needed for the future president. Jang Dong-Geun claims, “After collecting the opinions from the KU students and faculty members, the president should need the firm will to complete the goal and have achievement power to make the goal possible.” He also pointed out that the future president should be able to withstand the pressure from the KU foundation, which could intervene with on-campus materials.

Lee Dong-Gyu ('12, Economics) pointed out that the next president should be the one who could distribute the aid and investments effectively and equally, abandoning the former perspective that is founded in the capitalistic thinking. “The president of KU should be able to foster majors that are isolated from the supports of the school, like the College of Liberal Arts and College of Political Science and Economics.”

The process of electing the president is quite unfamiliar to KU students because until now KU president could rarely be seen interacting with the students, and the election process was also poorly publicized. Like the interviews of KU students suggest, we expect that the next president will be someone who interact with students actively, and someone that could bring a brighter future for KU.