The Hanshin University board of directors (temporary chairperson: Elder Yu Yeong-jun) met at a Daejeon hotel on September 12 and elected Prof. Yeon as the next Hanshin president. If newly elected President Yeon, who started his term as acting president on the 13th, is ratified by the 102nd general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) on September 19 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang-do, he will be inaugurated officially as president.
The presidential seat became vacant in January last year, when former president Chae Su-il left to become head pastor at Kyungdong Presbyterian Church in Seoul. Two months later, the board of directors chose Kang Sung-young as the new president, but conflict arose among the board, students, staff, professors and other constituents of the school, due to the way the election had been conducted. Acting President Kang was not ratified for the post by the denomination’s regular general assembly in the following September, and the school has continued operating with acting president status.
Immediately after receiving news of Prof. Yeon’s election as president, on the evening of the 12th, the Hanshin Students’ Association blocked access to the president’s office in the main building on the Hanshin campus in Osan, Gyeonggi-do, and started a sit-in. As of the 13th, President-elect Yeon had not yet been able to enter his office.
At the heart of the Hanshin situation is the deep distrust pervading relationships among the board, students, professors and staff. The Students’ Association is advocating election of the president through the participation of professors, staff and students, and in fact is calling for a direct election system. The position of the Students’ Association and the Hanshin University Alumni Association, announced prior to the recent board meeting, is that “A new board of directors to be formed according to agreed democratic process by the PROK General Assembly, the Hanshin Special Committee for Reform, and the 4-Party Council, should elect the new president."
The Hanshin board, however, finds this suggestion hard to accept. Last month the board revised the school’s Articles of Association to include safety mechanisms that would prevent sole control by a specific person. The revised Articles contain a reform plan for drastic change in the board membership, via the dispatch of one board member from each PROK presbytery. With regard to this decision, the Students’ Association and others are demanding, “The new president must be elected by a board of directors that has been newly formed according to the revised Articles of Association.”
The PROK General Assembly is keeping the situation under close scrutiny. “The General Assembly cannot intervene directly in university affairs,” a General Assembly source said. “We hope the university constituents will come up with a method that leads to harmony.”
Reporter Jang Chang-Il (jangci@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Original Article in Korean:
한신대 파행 언제까지… 차기 총장 선출했지만 학생들 반발 총장실 폐쇄: 이사회, 20개월 넘는 진통 끝에 새 총장에 연규홍 교수 선출
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PROK Disapproves Acting President of Hanshin University
