Student Corner Why SNU presidents room became a camping ground

By Park Ju-won

The tug-of-war between the administration and the student council never seems to cease at the prestigious Seoul National University (SNU).

On May 30, more than 2,000 students gathered at the school’s main plaza, Acropolis, to protest the school’s move to incorporate itself. They held an emergency student assembly. At the meeting, 1,715 of 1,810 students voted for the dissolution of the university’s corporatization committee. After the vote, approximately 1,000 students occupied the main building, including the president’s office.

It was the latest clash between the school and students since the university announced its corporatization plan five years ago. The dispute escalated after the National Assembly passed a bill aimed at incorporating the state-run university under the support of the ruling Grand National Party.

The students’ association and the school administration are torn between two aspects of the corporatization; SNU’s globalization through more competition or staying as a hall of pure learning rather than the fierce pursuit for competition.

SNU’s corporatization has faced fierce backlash since the introduction of the bill in 2007. With corporatization, many big and small details of the university will eventually be changed.

The corporatization committee is comprised of 15 members, including the SNU president, vice president, vice minister of education, science and technology and other outside specialists.

The university campus, which is currently under SNU’s control, will be transferred to the state. The school will have to present its financial budgets and educational plans to the government every four years to get state funds.

The corporatization will bring changes to the school’s decision-making process. Major decisions will be determined by SNU’s newly elected board of directors. The SNU council, currently made up of professors, will lose its final say.

The faculty will be under the jurisdiction of SNU Corp. instead of the government. Protesters are concerned that faculty welfare will be downgraded and job security will be at risk once their status changes.

In fact, a few faculty members have already left the school in fear of losing their status. Commercializing the university might lead to an increase in tuition to offset a decrease in government aid.

Also, the very nature of the corporatization is said to increase competition. In order to compete against other universities around the world, it is anticipated that the budget will be focused on the “practical” majors without any control from the state.

In 1999, Japanese universities started planning their corporatization through the “Doyama” plan. By 2004, 86 universities were corporatized. After corporatization, small, local universities had trouble managing their schools due to the lack of self-autonomy skills.

Many universities are suffering from severe financial difficulty. Also, the budget for “non-practical” majors is almost nonexistent which leads to a drop of the universities’ ranking.

According to The Times published in Britain, the Tokyo University has dropped from 12th to 26th, and Kyoto University from 29th to 57th. This invalidates SNU President Oh Yeon-chun’s theory that corporatization will develop capacity for global competition.

With the corporatization moving ahead, many construction works have been underway at SNU. By providing funds for the new buildings, the corporation earned the privilege of selecting businesses that will occupy the buildings. Cheap restaurants, barber shops and computer repair shops have all closed down and new and expensive restaurants have taken their place.

Some might say the corporatization will offer more choices. However, if that “choice” limits someone else’s choice, then it fails to be a desirable change. All the changes have occurred regardless of the student body’s opinion. The corporatization bill was passed without any agreement with students. Their voice has been ignored and denied. SNU’s decision will establish a precedent for many other Korean universities. What SNU needs is to regain its trust from students first before pursuing its ambitious plan.

Park Ju-won is The Korea Times’ global reporter. She can be reached at pjw7109@gmail.com.