Dr. Park Sung-hyun: "President of Mokpo National Maritime University, an Honor and a Privilege"

Honorably Completing a 4-Year Term... Farewell Ceremony on the 15th

Held Monthly Meetings with Shipping Company Officials from Busan, Gwangyang, and Others During the Term

Park Sung-hyun, President of Mokpo National Maritime University, is delivering a farewell speech at the retirement ceremony held at the Miraeyum Complex on the 15th. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Mokpo National Maritime University held the farewell ceremony for the 7th President Park Seong-hyun on the 15th at 2 p.m. in the Future Convergence Hall.

Strictly adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, President Park Seong-hyun exchanged farewell remarks wishing for the university's endless development and well-being, while faculty and staff presented a commemorative collection and a plaque of appreciation to honor his dedicated service.

Strictly adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, President Park Seong-hyun exchanged farewell remarks wishing for the university's endless development and well-being, while faculty and staff presented a commemorative collection and a plaque of appreciation to honor his dedicated service.

President Park Seong-hyun took office on October 20, 2017, presenting the catchphrase “An international maritime university, the number one university in global overseas employment rate, and a leap forward with an educational system preparing for the 4th future maritime industrial revolution.”

Although there were difficulties in advancing projects and academic administration due to a presidential vacancy lasting about four months at the time of his inauguration, he worked hard for the development of Mokpo National Maritime University and the local community by presenting a vision to become a global maritime university based on his experience and network in the maritime field.

President Park Seong-hyun devoted efforts to securing the reserved land for North Korean port facilities (approximately 165,000㎡, valued at about 30 billion KRW), a long-cherished project for the university for 20 years, as university grounds.

After the request for securing university facility land following the development of the North Port in 1995, the registration as university land was completed in June 2018, more than 20 years later.

In particular, President Park encouraged students to change their registered addresses to Mokpo City and worked towards coexistence and mutual growth with the local community.

With about 3,000 students and 300 faculty and staff, the university operated two training ships, including the recently built state-of-the-art training ship “Segyeroho,” contributing to the Mokpo economy and attracting international students to become an international maritime university.

President Park played a significant role in the university being selected as an autonomous improvement university in the Ministry of Education’s second cycle university basic competency diagnosis evaluation.

Since his inauguration, President Park held monthly meetings with shipping company officials in Busan and Gwangyang, operated an on-campus employment information center, and provided interview support programs, achieving the highest domestic university employment rate (82.3% in 2018 university information disclosure).

After five years, the university was accredited with excellent results by meeting five areas in the university institutional evaluation certification.

Based on this, the university received general financial support without reducing enrollment and achieved the selection for the “LINC＋ Project,” “National University Innovation Support Project,” and “National University Development Project,” securing about 15 billion KRW in financial support over the next five years.

In the past three years, the university produced over 340 maritime police and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials, earning a reputation as the “Maritime and Fisheries Public Officials Academy.”

Especially after his inauguration, President Park visited political circles and related institutions to maintain the seafaring reserve officer system, participated in related forums, and issued resolutions, dedicating efforts for the future of enrolled students.

To improve student education levels, he increased the budget for overseas language training and led the construction of the state-of-the-art training ship Segyeroho (9,196 tons) to enhance students’ practical training environment.

On February 1, 2019, the Ministry of Education approved the establishment of a secondary school teacher (level 2) certification program, providing students with opportunities to become teachers at maritime and fisheries high schools.

For the welfare improvement of students and staff, 31 non-regular employees were converted to regular positions, and overseas support expenses for staff were increased, boosting morale.

These achievements were the result of President Park fulfilling his pledge to be a “salesman” president who would actively work on the ground throughout his term. The distance traveled using official cars and KTX trains would be enough to circle the earth several times.

In his farewell speech, President Park Seong-hyun said, “I thank all members who helped the university continuously develop as a special-purpose university leading the maritime industry,” and added, “I hope everyone will unite to support the next president so that we can overcome upcoming crises and become a mecca for global shipping and maritime human resource development.”

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