KAIST president refuses to quit

Suh plans to drop punitive tuition system

By Kim Rahn

Suh Nam-pyo, the beleaguered president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), made it clear Tuesday that he would not resign to take the blame for a series of suicides by students at the school.

Instead, Suh said he would abolish the school’s controversial penalty tuition system, which was cited as one of the reasons for the deaths, and amend other policies.

Attending an educational committee session at the National Assembly, Suh apologized to the public for the tragedy.

“I think we’ve managed school affairs well enough in general, but we’ll fix the things that need to be fixed. We’ll abolish the tuition payment system, strengthen counseling programs, and reconsider the English-only lectures,” the president said.

Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties lashed out at his management style that focused too much on competition.

Suh said he would accept their criticism and modify policies accordingly in response, but said, “I have no plan to step down for now.”

The president will also brief school trustees on his plan for system improvements at a meeting of the board of directors to be held in Seoul, Friday, where the topics may include his dismissal.

Regarding Suh’s leadership, professors at the school conducted an online poll to reach a consensus on their demands. They claimed Monday that the school needs new leadership, saying Suh’s reform methods were monolithic and against fostering creativity.

If more than half of the school’s 500 professors agree to a specific type of leadership, they will send the results to Suh and ask him to decide whether or not to accept them by noon Thursday.

Professor Kyung Chong-min, head of the professors’ council, didn’t elaborate on the details, but said they will urge the president to resign if he refuses to concede to them.

In the meantime the education ministry’s recent investigation showed Suh was not entitled to subscribe to a private school pension when he was appointed at the age of 70, as those over 65 are not allowed to do so. The school has paid some 13 million won towards his pension and the state, about 10 million won.

It was also found that of the $60,000 in additional allowances that can be awarded to the KAIST president per year, Suh received $51,700 in incentives without evaluation of his achievements after subtracting his share for the pension.

The ministry said the pension enrollment and the incentive payments are in violation of pension laws and KAIST regulations.

A school official said, “We inquired to the Korea Teachers’ Pension about Suh when he became president, and the agency told us to submit the related documents and approved his enrollment. It’s not our fault.”

He also said the KAIST president is not subject to evaluation under internal school rules. “The ministry would have ordered us to get the money back if it had been paid illegally, but it didn’t.”

The ministry also detected 23 administrative and financial violations, ordering the school to take punitive measures against 177 members of staff.