Park Chul
President of HUFS |
Professor Park Chul of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) was re-elected as the school's ninth president Friday, making him the first in the school's history to serve two consecutive terms. He has been in office for the past three years.
Park, an expert in Spanish, beat his rival, Professor Kim Jung-ryeol of the economics department, by winning 182 of 203 professors' votes. Park is known for his sternness and thought-provoking ideas, a spokesman for the school said.
Park invented a "7+1" system, which provides every student one semester overseas out of eight. He also obliged graduates-to-be to take lectures in more than two foreign languages to maintain the school's identity with foreign studies.
The president has also increased support for the engineering department, which was criticized for its "lack of competitiveness" by industry insiders.
Park graduated from HUFS as a Spanish major and earned his doctorate degree at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spanish literature. Park started his academic career at HUFS in 1985 and served as an international affairs director.
Park's new term will start from March 1 next year and last four years.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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