Calls mount for direct university president elections

There have been rising voices advocating a direct presidential election system among national universities across the country, reports The Dong-A Ilbo.

After 17 August, when Professor Goh Hyun-chul of Pusan National University, or PNU, committed suicide in support of the preservation of a direct election system and democratisation of universities, PNU and Korea Maritime and Ocean University chose a direct election system, followed by Chungnam National University and Gyeongsang National University.

According to Article 24 of Public Educational Officials Act, members of the university should choose between a "president election committee" and an "agreement among faculty members" for presidential election. But the Ministry of Education intervened and connected the election system to financial aid, with national universities having turned to an indirect election system since 2012.
Full report on The Dong-A Ilbo site