By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Students and professors at Seoul National University (SNU) are showing negative reaction to a former professor's return to the school following his resignation from the post of chief presidential secretary.
Former SNU professor Yu Woo-ik served as presidential chief of staff but was removed from the post along with other senior secretaries and ministers last week. Shortly thereafter, he expressed the hope of returning to the school.
``If he comes back, we'll take steps to block his return,'' said Oh Mi-kyung, president of the students' association of the college of humanities at SNU. ``We could hold a protest or other actions to show that we don't want him back.''
She said most students have negative opinions of the so-called ``polifessor'' as one who neglects academic studies but rather concentrate on advancing his or her political career. Polifessor is used in Korean parlance to combine the words ``politics'' and ``professor,'' referring to those who shuttle between government posts and universities.
Yu would not be welcome since he worked to assist major government polices that students strongly opposed such as the inland canal, she said.
It will be the second time that a former professor-turned-politician has tried to return to the school. Another SNU professor, Kim Yeon-soo, is now trying to return to her school after she failed in her bid for a parliamentary seat early this year. The university will hold a disciplinary committee meeting to decide on sanctions against her Tuesday.
Most colleagues are negative toward polifessors, arguing that university is not a place for unsuccessful politicians.
Kim Ahn-joong, chairman of the faculty counsel at SNU, said it was time to discuss the issue of polifessors from an ethical point of view. ``Polifessors have had a bad impact on education at universities in general. We should think about the role of professors,'' Kim said.
Avoiding mentioning Yu's return directly, he suggested the university set clearer rules on the issue ― SNU is currently formulating a series of regulations.