Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Sookmyung president drops suit against board
By Yi Whan-woo
The president of Sookmyung Women’s University has dropped a lawsuit against the school’s board, virtually giving up her bid for a second term.
The school said Thursday that Han Young-sil, 54, made the move after coming in second place after a vote by professors to select two candidates a day before.
Han won 144 of 304 votes, trailing Hwang Sun-hae, professor of English language and literature who garnered 154.
The board will select one of them to become head of the school on Aug. 9. It had never selected a runner-up in the past, implying that Han stood little chance of re-election.
“We deem that she made the decision to apparently avoid time-consuming legal disputes to show that she accepted the result of the vote,” a school official said.
The seven-member board includes its chairman Lee Yong-teh, Kim Kwang-seok, an entrepreneur, and Han. President Han filed a suit against Lee and Kim for their alleged diversion of school funds that were raised through donations.
The two have been suspended from their jobs since March by the education ministry, and Han claimed it is inappropriate for the suspended board members to take part in board activities, including the election of a president.
The Seoul Western District Court was to rule on Lee and Kim on Aug. 16 about whether to strip them of their jobs. Han’s withdrawal of the suit is likely to facilitate the process of electing the new president for which consent from at least five board members is necessary.
Han’s chance to win her second term is now “very slim,” and her decision to drop the suit is “appropriate,” according to an official.
“The board always picked the leading candidate for president, and it’s very unlikely that it will make an exception this time, especially considering the fact Han has been in a dispute with the board members.”
Hwang is backed by Han’s predecessor, Lee Kyung-sook, raising her hopes of taking the helm of the school. She served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts between 2010 and 2011.