▲ Kim Min-ju (’16, Korean History) holding the picket requiring a democratic election process of the school president. Photographed by Lee Che Yeon.

August 8 marked the last day of the relay picketing jointly held by Korea University Student Union (KUSU) ABLE and Yiman-Chongchong, a task force (TF) team congregated for democratic election of the school president. Everyday since August 1, two people each took turns holding the picket on campus shouting for students’ voice to be heard in the election process. Kim Min-ju (’15, Korean History), the Head of the Division of Human Rights who took part in the protest on August 8, stated, “There are many oppositions regarding the participation of students in the presidential election because they think students are mere consumers of the school.” However, she added that “the idea of people electing their king was once considered not reasonable” and expressed the hope that direct election soon will and shall be held.

 
Lee Jae-yeol (’16, Linguistics), the President of the College of Liberal Arts and the other participant for the picketing on August 8, stressed that it is the right time to take definite action. Giving the construction of SK Future Hall as an example, he emphasized that the presence of school members in the election is directly related with how much the elected president will respect them.
 
The demonstration never came out of nothing. ABLE not only held a press conference urging for the democratic presidential election in KU on July 17, but also sent an official document requiring for direct election and limitation of board of directors’ decisive power in appointing the President on July 28. Met with KU’s continuous silence on that matter, ABLE and the members of Yiman-Chongchong have decided to take stronger measures in expressing the student body’s arguments, using campus wall posters and relay picketing.
 
 

 

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