Controversy Over Kim Gi-seon, GIST President's Resignation Spreading as a Matter of Responsibility

Emergency Press Release from PR Team on 18th Announces President's Official Resignation

On 19th, President Kim Denies Mentioning Resignation... Orders Rebuttal Materials

Decision on Position at Regular Board Meeting on 30th... "Must Make a D

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] Responsibility is mounting over Kim Gi-seon, president of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (hereafter GIST), who denied the official announcement made by the public relations team representing him and reversed his declaration of resignation.

With the school administration virtually paralyzed due to various allegations against the head of GIST, the president at the center of the controversy is criticized for engaging in a battle over the facts related to his own position rather than normalizing the organization.

According to GIST on the 22nd, the GIST public relations team issued an urgent press release on the 18th announcing the president’s official resignation.

However, on the following day, the 19th, Kim reportedly stated in a meeting with staff that he “never directly mentioned his resignation.”

Furthermore, Kim is said to have instructed the creation of a rebuttal to the already distributed press release at this meeting.

Without addressing the fundamental issues of this incident, such as the research allowances and performance bonuses initially raised by the labor union, he suddenly expressed that the report of his resignation was not true.

His remarks appeared to reflect internal conflict with the public relations planning office that issued the press release.

In fact, a dispute over the circumstances of the press release’s preparation occurred between President Kim and the head of the planning office.

The GIST planning office chief reportedly refuted, saying, “The president’s intention to resign was confirmed in a meeting attended by more than 10 people, including 5 to 6 department heads, 2 vice presidents, and the chair of the faculty council.”

However, Kim stated that he will decide his position based on the final decision of the regular board meeting scheduled for the 30th.

Eleven members, including the chairman, professors, and external personnel, are expected to attend the board meeting.

Within GIST, concerns are being expressed about the damaged reputation of GIST and internal division, regardless of the president’s future position amid this incident.

Kim received an average score of 35.20 out of 100, effectively a failing grade, in a mid-term evaluation conducted by the labor union among staff last month.

A GIST official said, “It is worrisome that the mid-term evaluation of the president and various allowance allegations are escalating into conflicts and confrontations among organizational members,” adding, “The president’s decision is necessary for the swift resolution of this incident and the normalization of the organization.”

Earlier, the labor union raised suspicions that Kim concurrently held two center director positions within the school while receiving large research allowances and performance bonuses.

They also claimed that Kim is revising the operating standards for the retirement faculty balance account and the honorary professor regulations in consideration of his post-retirement.

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