By Kim Se-jeong
Four state-run universities are denouncing the Ministry of Education for declining to choose presidents for their schools without giving specific reasons.
Staff and professors from one of the schools, Korea National Open University based in Seoul, staged a rally to call for prompt appointments in front of the ministry building in Sejong City on Tuesday.
“The ministry is disturbing academic affairs at the four schools,” the protestors said in a statement.
Joining Korea National Open University in calling for a response were Kongju National University in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province; the Korea National Sport University in Seoul; and the Kyungpook National University in Daegu.
All 39 public universities nationwide are obliged to send two candidates to the ministry to be chosen as their president. The ministry’s selection committee then chooses a candidate, and Cheong Wa Dae appoints the person. The process usually takes one month. The term for public university presidents is four years.
With the four universities now protesting, the candidates they put forward were all turned down, with the ministry so far staying silent on why they were rejected.
“I am curious why I was disqualified. I haven’t heard anything from the ministry since it rejected me. I think I deserve to know the reason,” Prof. Ryu Soo-no, a candidate from the Korea National Open University, told a local daily.
Prof. Kim Hyun-kyu from the Kongju University, who was also a presidential candidate, said, “I don’t know why the ministry rejected me. The university is doing many projects, and having a leader is urgent at this point.”
Staff and professors from the four schools claim that the ministry is attempting to select people who are close to political heavyweights, while the ministry dismisses this argument as baseless.
The ministry said it does not disclose the reasons for rejection because it is a matter of privacy. Crime records, wealth and ethics are among the criteria in reviewing the candidates, according to the ministry.
“Also, the appointment is part of an administrative procedure,” Han Seog-soo from the ministry said, meaning silence is part of the process, and the ministry is not obliged to detail the reasons for its decisions by law.
Prof. Kim Kyu-jong of the Kyungpook University criticized the ministry’s silence in his contribution to a local daily, Kyungbuk Mail, on Jan. 9, saying: “It hasn’t said anything about why it rejected both candidates. It only ‘ordered’ the school to send two other candidates.”
One failed candidate from the Kongju University filed a suit against the ministry in July. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the candidate, prompting the ministry to appeal the case. Another former candidate from the Open University filed a suit in September. Both are expecting rulings later this month.
Public universities rely heavily on taxpayers’ money, which pays for professors’ salaries, construction of buildings and general maintenance.