By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Universities that failed to win a license for U.S-style law schools are moving to file lawsuits to nullify the selection.
Education Minister Kim Shin-il Monday announced 25 successful candidates for the first ever law schools ― 15 in the Seoul area and 10 in the provinces.
Schools failing to get tickets for the three-year graduate school staged rallies in Seoul, alleging the ``unfair and politically manipulated'' selection should be declared null and void.
Dankook University's president Kwon Ki-hong Monday resigned from his post over his university's failure to win a license to run a law school. He is the the first school head to quit over the issue. Dankook took the issue to court.
In the statement, he said ``I am deeply sorry to all members of the school. With the school unpicked, it's impossible for me to run this school any longer.'' He said he would consider utilizing all possible legal measures including request of information disclosure, administrative litigation and even constitutional petition to bring the ``troubled'' law school program back on track.
About 900 professors, staffers and students from two universities ― Sun Moon University in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and Chosun University in Gwangju ― which failed to get their names on the list also staged a massive rally in Seoul.
Some law professors of Sun Moon shaved their hair to vent their anger over the decision. Professors said in a statement that: ``there would be only one law school, Chungnam National University, in South Chungcheong Province and Daejeon. The selection process did not abide by the principle of allocating at least one law school in each local metropolitan city or province.''
The Association of Korean law Professors also claimed all matters regarding law school should be reviewed and dealt with by the next administration.
Prof. Chang Jae-ok, dean of college of law at Chung-Ang University in Seoul and council head for dean of college of law, pointed out two reasons why universities do not accept the selection result. First, the government failed to set fair and balanced criteria for the selection. Second, the selection process did not strictly follow the previously-set principles.''
``In fact, law school matters have nothing to do with the nation's balanced development. But the political circles utilized them to take upper hand in upcoming general elections slated for April,'' Chang said.
He said screening procedures have too many flaws.
The 15 successful candidates in Seoul and the central part of the peninsula are Konkuk, Kyung Hee, Korea, Sogang, Seoul National, Sungkyunkwan, University of Seoul, Yonsei, Ewha Womans, Chung-Ang, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang, Ajou, Inha universities and Kangwon National University.
The 10 universities in other provinces are Chungnam National, Chungbuk National, Chonnam National, Wonkwang, Chonbuk National, Cheju National, Kyungpook National, Yeungnam, Dong-A and Pusan National universities.
Of the total student quota of 2,000, 57 percent or 1,140 will study at universities in the central region, while the remainder will study at schools elsewhere.
The list caused a crack in the relations between the ministry and Cheong Wa Dae as the decision came after snubbing the suggestion of the presidential office.
Since the list was made public late last month, Cheong Wa Dae has repeatedly called on the ministry to modify the already-disclosed list for the sake of the nation's balanced development.
Reportedly, Cheong Wa Dae has pressed the ministry to add extra universities in South Gyeongsang Province to the list.
As the ministry rejects the suggestion, however, the presidential office asked the ministry to increase the total student quota by 2010.
But the ministry also refused to accommodate the proposal, citing the year 2010 will be under the Lee Myung-bak administration.