By Park Si-soo
Students stopped their sit-in to protest the government’s move to incorporate the state-run university in the Seoul National University (SNU) main building Sunday after 28 days.
The decision followed the majority of leaders of the students’ association voting to end the rally while accepting a compromise suggested by school authorities.
Forty students voted to halt the action, 19 to continue, and two abstained, the association said in a statement.
“We’ve decided to stop the protest in accordance with the vote result,” the association said. “But this is not the end of our struggle. This is an issue that should be discussed again at the National Assembly.”
Under the compromise, SNU President Oh Yeon-cheon issued a statement in which he apologized for having ignored students’ opinions in promoting incorporation.
The school also promised to add student leaders to a panel overseeing the incorporation process and tuition policy as well as freeze tuition for next year.
Despite the agreement, some students said they will “try to stop the incorporation by launching a protest targeting the National Assembly.”
Not completely convinced, other students resisted the move to leave the building, demanding the school disband a special committee organized to push the transition forward.
The protest claimed the incorporation will result in the collapse of studies, tuition hikes and the deterioration of student welfare. In contrast the school authorities said it will help raise SNU’s efficacy in operations and global competitiveness with more flexible management.
The government has taken steps to liberalize the university from 65 years of state control since the Assembly endorsed a bill designed to withdraw state intervention in the school’s management in December last year. It said it will continue to provide financial support to the school even after the incorporation.
The transition is set to be completed by March next year and under the new system school authorities will determine everything from salaries of professors to tuition.
Under the scheme, the school will be run by a board of directors, including members from outside the school, which elects the president. Professors and staffers will no longer be paid like civil servants, and will instead be under a separate annual salary system that includes performance-based pay.
All state and public properties, such as the school’s buildings and land, will be handed over for free, while government funding will continue at similar levels. The university will also have the freedom to conduct commercial projects.