Daegu University President Kim Sang-ho Returns After Dismissal Incident: "Supporting Only Top Universities Widens the Gap"

Announced Resignation Intent in February, Returned as President in June
"More Support Needed for Underprivileged Regional Universities to Close Gaps"
Emphasized Securing Demand for Higher Education Including International Students

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] "Twenty people came during the additional recruitment. I didn't expect the under-enrollment to be this severe. I wanted to focus on managing the 'quality' of education rather than the 'quantity' of new students, but since opinions differed, I was about to resign."

This statement caused a stir in the university community as the president of Daegu University declared his resignation after failing to fill 20% of this year's freshman quota. Kim Sang-ho, president of Daegu University (pictured), appeared at the summer president seminar venue on the 1st. Presidents from other schools extended their hands for a handshake while closely observing his expression.

President Kim was dismissed for expressing his intention to resign but returned as president after farming. He announced his intention to resign at the end of February and planned to step down at the end of May after the organizational restructuring was completed. However, the board dismissed him in March. Kim filed an injunction to suspend the dismissal of the president with the court, which was accepted on appeal, and he has been performing presidential duties since June 1. Kim said, "This admission must succeed. I intend to go all-in on school stability and the success of early admissions."

Regarding the worsening enrollment difficulties and hierarchy among regional universities, he mentioned the "rich get richer, poor get poorer" phenomenon. Kim stated, "Higher education is also a universal welfare, but university financial support is applied only through competitive logic. Only excellent universities receive support, which worsens the gap," emphasizing, "To resolve educational disparities, more support should be given to regional universities in poor conditions."

Kim added, "The Ministry of Education tends to give carrots and sticks after problems arise rather than creating measures beforehand, so universities are forced to follow along, wasting administrative power and budgets on evaluations," and said, "Structural adjustment is inevitable, and another demographic cliff will come in 2040. Reducing numbers is not always the best solution."

Daegu University also conducted departmental restructuring. He said, "The Mathematics Department, which had the largest under-enrollment, was merged into the Big Data Department," adding, "I expressed my intention to resign because I felt I could no longer endure just managing the 'quantity' (quota). I believed we could achieve a soft landing by managing the 'quality' of education."

Reducing quotas or merging departments inevitably causes internal conflicts. Kim believes that, like in the U.S., higher education demand should be attracted from overseas. He explained, "Education cannot rely solely on domestic demand; we need to focus on enhancing international competitiveness," and added, "Countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan, where higher education is not yet advanced, have high demand in basic science fields."

Conversely, in Korea, basic academic fields are stagnating while service-related fields are gaining attention. Daegu University established a Department of Companion Animal Studies, but applications for Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Chemical Engineering have decreased, a trend common in the Daegu region.

Kim said, "Middle and lower-tier students avoid difficult academic fields. If academia is reorganized around service, it will be difficult to produce industrial manpower," and stated, "The Ministry of Education finds it hard to solve these problems; they should be reflected in presidential election pledges to address higher education issues."

Kim shared, "I ran for president because I was frustrated during my professorship, but after becoming president, I found even more unsolvable problems. I thought it was right to leave when hitting a limit," and said, "The foundation tried to abolish direct elections, and I said I couldn't resign unless guarantees were made. I couldn't become a villain in the school's history."

Ten minutes after the interview ended, he called again. He said, "I spoke with the new chairman, and we agreed to do our best in our respective roles and maintain dialogue," adding, "I think many conflicts can be resolved."

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