THE KUKMIN DAILY

On the afternoon of November 21, in the worship hall at its Osan campus, Hanshin University held the inauguration ceremony for its new president Yeon Gyu-hong (right, with acting board chair Yu Yeong-jun). Thus President Yeon finally began his official term, which had been ratified in September by the regular general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. The solemn inauguration was not an occasion of wholehearted celebration, however, because it was the scarred fruit of a variety of conflicts and controversy among members of the campus community.

From November 8 to the day just before the inauguration ceremony, Hanshin students held a continuous sit-in fast at the Korean Christian Ecumenical Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the PROK General Assembly offices are located, demanding that President Yeon and the board of directors step down. At last, on the afternoon of the 20th, the students ended their struggle of fasting and shouting, and were dramatically able to sit down at the negotiating table with President Yeon and PROK-related persons. The negotiations produced two core agreements. One is that during President Yeon’s term of office, an evaluation of his appointment will be carried out according to the method and process decided by the 4-Party Council, consisting of representatives of the university administration, faculty council, staff union and student association. President Yeon agreed to follow this decision.

The other noteworthy outcome of the negotiations was the decision that the “presidential election regulations” agreed upon last June 16 by the 4-Party Council will be incorporated into the Articles of Association. This is significant because it means the introduction of a direct presidential election system with professors, staff and students holding voting rights.

Following this agreement, the students have ended their fast and are recovering in the hospital. Though it is an important agreement, and though the students went without food in the freezing cold of early winter demanding the resignation of President Yeon and the board, still they could not attain their original goal. Fighting with their backs to the wall, even writing school withdrawal letters, they had no other weapons to use against the resistance of the board and President Yeon.

Now that the complications are ended, President Yeon has taken office and holds full authority over school operations. In his inaugural speech, referring to the agreement made with the students, he gave his evaluation that “it has prepared a new turning point for democratic Hanshin.” It remains to be seen whether this promise will be properly honored.

Article and photo by reporter Jang Chang-Il (jangci@kmib.co.kr), from Osan, with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)


Original Article in Korean:
[미션 톡！] 학내 분규 끝낸 한신대 연규홍 총장 취임… 상처투성이의 열매


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