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Presidential candidates and their running mates for school council of a university in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, campaign for election at the campus entrance in this Nov. 20, 2013 file photo. University student bodies |
By Yoon Sung-won, Park Jin-hai
College student bodies are losing their previous reputation as the champions of students' rights, suffering from a double whammy of internal problems and students' indifference.
Back in the 1970s and '80s, when the Korean thirst for democracy was strong, university student councils stood at the forefront, paving the way. Young and intelligent, the students considered fighting for democracy and against authoritarianism a duty as well as a privilege.
In the 1990s, when the strong-arm rule of authoritarian administrations started to subside, student councils had other missions such as protesting against tuition hikes and standing for students' rights against university administrations and boards of directors. Inheriting the militant spirit of their seniors a decade before, students were eager to fight for their rights and unity.
Internal issues
After two decades, however, corruption scandals involving the councils and their leaders have dealt a critical blow to their reputation.
In July 2013, police detained a former president of a council at a school in North Chungcheong Province for allegedly accepting bribes from yearbook makers and event managers, in return for contracts.
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Over 2,000 Seoul National University students gather at a meeting of the 33rd Student Council before launching a protest against political authorities in this March 16, 1990 file photo. At the time, college student bodies stood at the forefront of paving the way for democracy and human rights. |
In separate cases, candidates for the president of student councils at several universities nationwide were caught rigging votes in 2013.
Even though the elections were nullified, the continued negative news flowing from colleges have amplified the negative awareness about them among students.
Student bodies are also caught in a controversy over the fees they collect from students under the name of "operating expenses."
Councils collect fees of 10,000 to 30,000 won ($9.6 - $28.8) from each student every semester on a voluntary basis. Though the amount is not substantial, students still shun paying it as some bodies fail to persuade skeptical students who harbor questions including suspicions that the money might fall into the wrong hands.
"I paid 20,000 won each semester over the last three years only because I thought it was mandatory," said Yun Seung-ha, a senior at a university in Seoul.
"I do not pay it anymore because I feel it is not worth it and I suggest juniors not to pay unless the student council provides actual benefits," she added.
Separate from the councils, collegians in Korea also have to deal with representative student bodies of a smaller scale, at each department and each individual college.
For instance, freshmen are notified by department student councils when they enter college that they have to pay four year's worth of fees the councils says are necessary to run various departments' events and fairs. The fee amounts to hundreds of thousand won per student.
The freshmen would pay feeling that they might be disadvantaged if they don't. In one rare case involving a university in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, a student council announced that students who did not pay would suffer problems in receiving scholarships.
Indifference among students
While the student councils are embroiled with internal issues, collegians are increasingly losing interest in the representative bodies. Their foremost concern is getting a job upon graduation.
The 56th Student Council of Seoul National University, one of Korea's top universities, was only able to elect a leader after a tedious five-month struggle to find a student interested in representing the student body.
Since the election for the president was first held in November, it has had difficulty in securing enough votes as well as candidates. To increase the voting rate, the school adopted an electronic voting system to replace paper votes. But only 31.6 percent of students participated, falling far short of the required 50 percent.
Only after the student body reopened the election this month and extended it again for four days did the voting rate reach 50.3 percent. The low voting rate, however, is not limited to a certain year.
The SNU failed to garner the required 50 percent of votes for the past 11 years in a row _ a similar situation at other schools.
Last year, many universities including the Korea National University of Education, the Catholic University of Korea and Korea Polytechnic University, either had no candidate or low voting rates, leading to nullified elections.
On the Seoul campus of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), no one was nominated for the president to lead the student council last year. Until the April reelection, the ad hoc committee, comprised of the heads of each college council, had been filling the void.
"The gains from being a leader of a student council are less attractive than those from outside activities. On top of the fierce competition in the job market, people tend not to run for the leadership of the student body. That, I think, drops student's interest in the election itself," said Cho Bong-hyeon, the current president of the HUFS student council.
"To cope with the plunging interest, the council should abolish the current top-down structure and open up all channels of communications for students," he added.
Worse yet was the election for the president of college's student council. The Ansan campus of the Hanyang University's Journalism and Mass Communication College in Gyeongi Province had seen its head post vacant for three years, before it finally filled it in March this year.
"Let alone election rallies, we put most of our resources and energy into encouraging students to participate in the vote," said Park Sung-won, the new president.
Students who face fierce competition in job-seeking say they are too preoccupied to spend their time in student council activities.
"I thought such activities wouldn't be helpful for my career. I'd rather study more or prepare for certificates," a senior in Seoul, who asked not to be named, said. "I admit that I might have been irresponsible. But I had to choose what I need for my future."
"The student body is where students voice their opinions and execute them.
The situation of nobody taking up the role itself is very worrisome," said Hangyang University Journalism professor Kim Jung-ki.
"If the ivory tower is reduced to churning out students that give up their own rights voluntarily, when they become members of society, they will not be able to lead it in the right way," Kim said.
