[2020 National Audit] "15 out of 17 Invited Professors at Seoul City University Are Former Seoul City Officials"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] It has been revealed that 15 out of 17 invited professors at the University of Seoul are former Seoul city government officials.

According to the 'List of Invited Professors at the University of Seoul' received by Kwon Young-se, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party, as of September 2020, 16 out of 17 invited professors were former government officials, and among them, 15 were former Seoul city officials.

In particular, an analysis of 64 invited professors appointed at the University of Seoul between October 2011 and July 2020, during the tenure of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, showed that 47, or 73%, were retired Seoul city officials. Among the invited professors appointed during this period, only 9 were from academia, and there was not a single person from the corporate sector or scientific community.

The salary for non-tenured invited professors at the University of Seoul is set between 3 million and 5 million KRW per month.

Assemblyman Kwon Young-se said, "After reviewing the list of invited professors at the University of Seoul, I am concerned that positions meant for individuals with diverse field experience and expertise have turned into a means of livelihood for retired Seoul city officials," adding, "The University of Seoul should not be using students' tuition fees and citizens' taxes to pay salaries to retired Seoul city officials."

Assemblyman Kwon also urged, "Seoul city should not be directly or indirectly involved in the personnel hiring process through bodies such as the University of Seoul Operating Committee."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.