Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Kim In-chul to head university council
Kim In-chul, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies newly elected chairman of Korean Council for University Education. /Courtesy of HUFS
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Kim In-chul, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, has been elected the next chairman of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE).
The council held a regular meeting for 2020 at The K Hotel in Seoul and elected Kim as its new chairman. Kim will serve for the next two years from April 8.
The president showed his ambition to carry out his duties, especially with regard to the university evaluation system and financial issues.
“We will collaborate with related education authorities such as the Ministry of Education to expand the autonomy and free discretion that the universities should enjoy as all universities nationwide are struggling with financial problems and the implementation of the new evaluation system,” Kim said during the meeting.
The college evaluation system is a key policy of the education ministry to structural reform of private universities amid a decreasing number of school-age children. When colleges get a lower rating through the evaluation, the education ministry cuts government subsidies which can create financial problems for some schools.
“I will dedicate myself to serve as chairman of the council to find a breakthrough for this difficult situation in cooperation with the relevant authorities,” Kim said.
The KCUE is a consultative body of the country's four-year universities, established in 1982. Regarding major issues such as college degrees, finances and facilities, the council reports to the government with suggestions on policies and various matters necessary to improve university education.
Kim has been serving as president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies since 2014. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in public administration from HUFS and a doctorate in political science from the University of Delaware.
He joined HUFS as a faculty member of the public administration department in 1988, and later served as department dean. He also headed the office of planning and coordination, the office of academic affairs and the Graduate School of Political Science, Public Administration and Journalism, before serving as HUFS' vice president for external affairs.
He was also an inspection commissioner at the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, inspection commissioner at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and president of both the Korea Fulbright Alumni Association and Korean Association for Policy Studies.